


The Tributes from the Maze

by Lysandra_Marshmallow



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies), The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:16:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 33
Words: 53,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26267098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lysandra_Marshmallow/pseuds/Lysandra_Marshmallow
Summary: Newt has always felt like something was missing from his life. What did he have that left such an impact on him? Or who?Ariadne is a girl with a dark past. Her father went missing testing a dangerous machine. Her brother was taken from her. The boy she loved was also torn from her grasp. It seems like everything important in her life gets separated from her. But what happens when slowly, she finds the truth about everything she's ever lost? Her father. Her brother. A whole world she never knew about. And her secret love, Newt.They both finally get everything back and when it all starts being torn apart again. But this time they'll fight. They are determined not to lose each other again. (Newt/Oc) (Maze Runner+Hunger Games Crossover)
Relationships: Ariadne (OC) x Newt, Brenda/Thomas (Maze Runner), Harriet/Minho (Maze Runner), Haymitch Abernathy/Effie Trinket, Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark, Pheobe (OC) x Gally, Teresa Agnes/Thomas (Maze Runner)
Kudos: 7





	1. Please, Tommy, Please

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there Greenies!!! Welcome aboard the roller coaster! Please keep all feels inside the ride at all times. A few rules and safety precautions...
> 
> The author is not responsible for any emotional damage that may or may not occur.
> 
> The author would also like to say a brief disclaimer that she doesn't own The Maze Runner, The Hunger Games and any of the plot lines or characters from those respective series. The author does, however, own all OC's and the plotlines of this story.
> 
> This fanfiction is a continuation of The Maze Runner series from the dreaded page 250 onwards and is combined with the universe of The Hunger Games.
> 
> If you think you have read this before, you probably have. I did not steal anything from any other creator, but I did write this years ago and It was posted before, but I decided to take it down. I am now deciding to edit it completely and repost.
> 
> The character's appearances are based on the actors in the film reenactments of the novels.  
> Please enjoy the ride!!!

"Please, Tommy, Please" Newt begged.

His heart falling into a black abyss, Thomas pulled the trigger.

The sound of the bullet's wet thunk as it hit Newt's flesh still woke Thomas up at night. Even days later he was jolted back into consciousness by his own screams. He had never seen Newt's body. Just felt him fall, clenching his eyes shut in denial over his actions. Lawrence had pulled him away then, tossing him into the back of the vehicle and driving them back to the hangar. They had been staying there for a few days now. A plan to blow up WICKED's main base was being concocted as they rested and prepared to end it all. Apparently Brenda knew someone on the inside who could help them take down WICKED.

Thomas sat up, his sweat-soaked sheets falling into his lap as he ran his fingers through his damp and messy hair. A soft rap of the knuckles at his bedroom door cut through the silence. The bed creaked beneath him as he padded over the cold floors to twist the handle. He was faced with Teresa. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, he acted as if he wasn't falling apart inside at the loss of the glue that kept them all together.


	2. Newt Opened his Eyes

Newt opened his eyes. The sterile white that coated the entire room sent spots flying across his vision, blinding him momentarily. Once his eyes grew accustomed to the bright light, the blonde boy took in his surroundings. He felt...better than he could ever remember. He felt like himself again, without the violent urges and the angry monster taking over his head. The last thing he remembered was feeling trapped inside his own mind as his body betrayed him, attacking his best friend. It wasn't really him. It was the disease that has seized his body and brain. In his last moments of sanity, he finally managed to break out of his mental prison to beg for the sweet release of death. Thomas has pulled the trigger. He wondered if it was all some strange fever dream. Or was he...dead?

Newt panicked and tried to get up only to be jerked back onto the hospital bed by the restraints tied to his wrists and ankles.

"Easy there, tiger. You're going to hurt yourself and all my hard work would be for nothing." A feminine voice interrupted the frantic flow of his thoughts. 

"Who are you?" The boy twisted his neck, trying to catch a glimpse of the owner of the voice that had spoken.

A gentle hand was placed on his chest, pushing him back down softly. Her heels cracked against the tiled floors and she moved into his line of sight. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen (not that he had seen that many). It was as if her piercing hazel eyes iced in long, dark lashes bore into his very soul. A shock buzzed throughout him and there was a strange feeling, as though something was on the tip of his tongue but nothing was forming properly. Her peach, full lips tilted upwards into a smile, displaying the dimples on either side of her round cheeks. Tucking a stray lock of her long, cascading raven hair behind her ear, she looked away with an almost shy expression. All of his questions seemed to wash out of his brain. Great, Newt thought, she's an angel and I'm dead.

"My name is Aria Paige. I’m part of a covert group in WICKED that is working undercover for The Right Arm. My mother, Chancellor Ava Paige, is the leader. You probably don't know this, but we're planning to get you and a whole bunch of other people to a better life away from this corrupted continent. You can trust me." The girl, Aria, explained calmly as if she had rehearsed this spiel a thousand times. So he wasn't dead?

She swiftly took a needle and glass tube from the stainless steel bench next to her and leaned over Newt's bed to undo the ties around his right arm. Tapping and prodding his arm, she furrowed her eyebrows in concentration. Newt gathered that she was looking to take a blood sample. He was tempted to use his free arm to knock her out and escape, but something about her made him freeze in place.

"Ariadne?" The name tumbled from his lips softly. He had no idea where it had come from. The girl’s features hardened and her grip on his arm tensed.

"How did you...?" She began, but when her shocked eyes passed over his own confused orbs, a sad clarity settled over her. "I...I don't go by that name anymore."

So her name was Ariadne. But how had he known that? There was a tug in the deep recesses of Newt's mind and he grabbed for it, pulling it out of hiding.

"Wasn't that the name of an Ancient Greek mythological princess? The one that helped Theseus escape the maze of the Minotaur?" He questioned.

"Yeah. Ironic, isn't it?" She rolled her eyes. "That's why I hate the name. The trials ruined it."

When the fog in his mind cleared and his thoughts sharpened, Newt asked her, "Why should I trust you?"

"Would I untie you without precautions and be alone in a room with you if I wasn't one-hundred percent sure you had no reason to doubt me? Would I repair any damage and spend days helping you if I was just going to harm you again?" She reasoned.

"You might if WICKED still needed me for something." He countered her argument, still suspicious.

"Why would WICKED need you? They left you to die. They only value the immune. You were a control variable for their experiments." She stated plainly. "Would I know about the resistance group if it's a secret and I wasn't in it? Would I cure you of the flare if you were still required as a control in an experiment?"

Newt mulled it over for a minute, debating whether or not he could believe her. Then he did a double-take.

"Wait, what? You have a cure for the flare? That's impossible." He scoffed. “How did you even find me?”

"WICKED doesn't know about the cure. Only the Chancellor and select few high ranking officials in the Right Arm are aware. It would cause mass hysteria and panic if it were to become commonplace knowledge. Our allies in the Right Arm called me and informed me of what had happened. I was able to send people to collect your body. You’re lucky Thomas is a lousy shot. The bullet missed your brain entirely. It grazed the side of your skull. You passed out from the impact and blood loss."

"Tommy couldn’t even kill me without messing everything up,” he muttered fondly. “If only high ranking officials know, then why do you?"

"Because I created it." Ariadne started putting vials of blood she had taken from him into a machine that Newt thought looked quite like a casino wheel. Her statement blew his mind. There were so many questions.

"Why haven't you tried to help anyone else? Why just me?"

"The cure is created from a mix of two things. One is the specific enzymes produced by a rare DNA sequence in immunes. The enzyme breaks down the parasitic bacteria that infect the body and create the symptoms of the Flare virus. Those enzymes can only be extracted through the stem cells in the bone marrow of immunes, which is an extremely painful and long procedure. These stem cells are nurtured and implanted into the marrow of the infected. Once the DNA is planted it will begin to replicate itself, making the once infected immune. The second aspect of the cure is a chemical that stimulates a higher level of brain activity, causing the immune system to be more effective in fighting off the disease. It's not a procedure that can be done for everyone, and immunes would have to dedicate their lives to science. Many people are far past the Gone here. The virus is airborne, it would never fully go away. It could mutate and immunity from the original virus might be ineffective. There is a lot that would most likely go wrong. WICKED is so corrupted, there is no turning back for this society. Our best bet for the survival of humanity is to take as many immune or unaffected as we can and transport them to a safe continent that hasn't been affected by the virus. There may even still be human life elsewhere."

"Then why help me out of everyone?" Newt repeated his inquiry. “For you to go to the effort to get someone to find me and transport me here completely under the radar, you must have a pretty good reason.” 

"You..." she faltered. "You're special."

He opened his mouth to ask more questions when she cut him off by holding up a hand. "Please, just one more question. How are we supposed to find another continent?"

"My father began work on the technology to make it all possible." Ariadne conceded. "I found his research and completed the project after he went missing. I'm fairly certain you've used it before. It's called a Flat-Trans. My mother and I have been smuggling supplies through for years now, building a society in the safe haven we found on another continent. We weren't supposed to transfer everyone over for a while, but Janson has developed a more potent mutation of the Flare and plans to spread it everywhere to kill off most of the population, leaving only the elite to survive for a cure. Even he knows saving everyone isn't possible. But he has selfish and corrupted ideas about where to go from here. I worked with Thomas before he was sent into the maze. We're the ones who gave Mary the information she needed to give to the Right Arm and form an alliance."

There was a silence that fell over them as Ariadne worked.

"Is she alive? Mary?" Ariadne asked hesitantly, as though she were afraid of his answer.

"I'm not sure. I never made it to the Right Arm. I went to a Crank Palace near Devon." Newt mumbled back.

"What about Teresa Agnes?"

Newt could see the hope shining through her eyes and was careful about his choice of words. "Teresa is fine as far as I know. She betrayed us to WICKED. Or was that part of the plan as well?"

"Everything Teresa did was to get you all back here to WICKED so we could transport you to the safe haven. Janson has over 500 other immunes held captive in Group A's maze, waiting for another trial to be set up. Teresa would never do anything to hurt you all without having a good reason. I know she's better than that. She was my best friend before I met Brenda, after all." The brunette awkwardly gave Newt a strange look. "Well, second-best friend."

"Should I know you?" The blond teen asked. He had a feeling of comfort and recognition around Ariadne that was hard to justify or explain.

"You shouldn't be able to remember me, no." She turned away with a badly disguised expression of internal pain.

Before Newt could ask anything else, the machine that was testing his blood beeped twice. Ariadne turned back to the machine and pressed a few buttons. A printer on the other side of the bench started making a long whirring noise and two pieces of paper came out of the slit. Newt watched quietly as the brunette girl flipped through the pages, her striking eyes moving along the paper.  
Newt couldn't deny that he felt something when he looked into her eyes. She was attractive, no doubt, but there was something more than that. Something...familiar, that made his heart ache. It was almost as if his body remembered her but his brain didn’t. He suddenly felt embarrassed about how his unruly locks and grubby face must have looked in stark comparison to the clean, white room.

"Good news, Newton. You're clear." She said officially, not even glancing at him as she packed away and tidied the tools in the room.

"Wait, so that's it? I'm cured of the flare, I'm alive and I'm free?" Newt said, in disbelief of what he was hearing. He could make a proper decision for once in his life.

"I don't see why ever not. You're not in a prison, are you?" Ariadne said, the ghost of a smile on her lips. She looked over to him properly for the first time that Newt had seen. There was some form of fond recognition in her face as if she had seen him a thousand times before. Her eyes flickered to the gold chain that he'd kept around his neck before she turned away. He stopped thinking about the girl and started thinking about himself. He was free! He didn't have the flare! He was cured! He was going to live his life without having to run from WICKED at every turn! He could see Thomas and Minho again without fearing he would hurt them. He had to talk to them. What had happened to them? Did they even know he was alive?

"I understand that this is a lot to process at the current time. You probably would like to speak to your friends. No one knows you're alive apart from me and my mother. I can call Thomas and Minho if you'd like?" She asked, examining him once more. It was as if she knew how to read him as well as an open book. He could see she had genuine happiness, compassion and understanding towards him but he could see deeper than that. There was a permanent sadness in her eyes that one could only notice from years of companionship. So how did Newt notice it?

"Could you do that for me? Call Thomas and Minho?" Newt asked, hardly keeping the excitement from creeping into his voice.

"Yes, I'll call them now. Would you like me to give you some space?" The girl asked him and Newt couldn't believe his ears. He'd been given another choice to make without being threatened or forced.

"Umm, thanks. I don't mind if you stay though. In fact, I'd rather it if you'd stayed. That way if someone walks in and finds me here you can cover for me and I won't be put through any more buggin’ tests." Newt said, but it was only the half-truth. He felt like he knew her, like she was an old friend who'd come to stay for the holidays.

Ariadne nodded and smiled at him. She had a gorgeous smile, he noted. She poked at the smartphone about eight or nine times before passing it to him. He brought it up to his ear and there was a ringing noise. His mouth went dry and he wondered what he would say. Somehow 'Hey Tommy! You know how you shot me because I had the flare and everyone thinks I'm dead? Well, I'm not dead and I don't have the flare any more and we're going to finally live happily ever after!', wasn't exactly how he'd planned the conversation to go. Ariadne busied herself with some paperwork and the phone finally stopped ringing. Newt froze. Thomas's muffled voice could be heard from the other side of the phone.

"Hello!? Hello!? Hell- TERESA! HOW THE SHUCK DO YOU USE THIS KLUNKING THING!? TERESA! TERESA, TERES- Teresa I have no idea how to use this thing! Can you hea-" Thomas was shouting. Then Minho's voice could be heard telling Thomas off.

"Thomas, it works like this, you shank. You just hold it up and speak. It's not rocket science." Minho was saying. 

"Guys, The captain said someone important was on the other line. You might wanna talk and not keep them waiting. Here Thomas, hold it like this." Teresa was instructing. Newt found himself wanting to know who this head chief of the right arm was. After a while, Thomas's voice came in clear.

"Hello, can you hear me? Who is this?" He asked, uncertain that there was anyone on the other end. He smiled at the sound of his friends’ voices fighting on the other end. After a moment Newt decided on the perfect thing to say.

"Name's Newt, Greenie." He said in his thick British accent. There was a loud thump from the other side as Thomas had, Newt was guessing, dropped the phone in disbelief. There was a scramble of voices from the other side belonging to Minho, Teresa, Thomas, Aris, Harriet, Sonya and another familiar voice that Newt couldn't quite place yet. After the commotion had subdued Thomas spoke again.

"Newt? Is it really you? How...how is this possible? Where are you? I thought you were..." Thomas stuttered shakily.

"Dead? Nah, you shanks aren't gonna get rid of me that easily. I'm called the glue for a reason, ya know. I just stick around...people get attached. But Tommy, listen here, I'm in WICKED with a group of people who are working with the Right Arm. They have a plan. There's this genius girl about our age," Newt glanced at Ariadne who hadn't looked up from her work. "She created a cure for the Flare and a Flat-Trans so we can start over without WICKED."

"What?! So you're cured!?" Thomas's voice was so loud with apparent relief coming through the speakers that it could be heard by Newt and Ariadne. 

Unfortunately, it also meant that Minho's loud exclamation was also audible. "Is she cute?"

"Man, cute ain't the right word. But we can catch up on the details later. She's literally right here. She said she knows Teresa and Brenda." Newt snorted with another glance at Ariadne. He noticed Ariadne's shoulders tense. So she had been listening.

"It can't be her! I thought that she was...but never mind. It must be her." Teresa's voice came through.

"If she's hot, dude, I call her. Thomas can't have another one! He's already got Teresa and Brenda all over him. What does she look like?" Minho yelled out, Newt immediately scowled, but he didn't know why.

"I'm sorry to be eavesdropping but your friends aren't actually being very secretive, I couldn't help but overhear. Is that Minho?" Ariadne looked up and asked hopefully.

"Yep, that's our Minho." Newt sighed in mock annoyance, wondering briefly if Ariadne and his Korean friend had been going out before the maze.

"The reason I'm asking is...well, you don't remember, but Minho, Alby, you and me were all best friends. We took care of Chuck too every now and then when he was being bullied." She told Newt.

"Wait, so we did all know each other before the maze?" Newt asked as on the other end of the phone the boys had started fighting with Minho over the genius girl who saved them.

"You wouldn't remember it. Best friends is actually an understatement, we were practically joined at the hip but, as I said, you wouldn't remember." She said sadly and put her head down to continue with her work.

"Minho, she says she knows you and me, that we were all best friends with each other and Alby or some klunk like that," Newt said through the phone.

"Tell her I said hello then, I wanna be in the good books when we see her in real life," Minho said, Newt could hear the sass in his voice and rolled his eyes.

"He doesn't remember you, but he said hello," Newt told her.

"He was always such a flirt." She snorted. Newt was confused when he felt relieved that she didn't seem phased by Minho's flirtations. "You could teach him a thing or two with that old British charm. The accent and lopsided grin especially helps too." 

Newt felt his heart beat faster at what she said. "Oh, I'm charming, am I?" He raised an eyebrow.

"There it is again, you don't even realise you do it! It's second nature." She smirked.

"Alright, everyone! Settle down, get back to work, I'll handle the rest of the phone call. Everyone back to your jobs or your bunker, resume all schedules!" A loud voice could be heard leading everyone on the other side. Newt almost fell off of the hospital bed. That must have been the leader but that wasn't what shocked Newt.

"Gally! You? Alive? You're alive?! How?" Newt asked, completely flabbergasted.

"What do you think, shank? Nah, this is just a voice recording. Of course, it's me. I can see you are alive too. Not literally because you’re through the phone but...you know what I meant! Thought you were dead." Gally said to him.

"Yeah, I'm alive, but don't go sounding so bloody enthusiastic for me," Newt said sarcastically. He heard Ariadne trying to hold back a laugh and he grinned.

"Oh slim it, put the girl on the phone. I want to talk to her." Gally instructed. Newt wasn't used to Gally telling him what to do as he was second in charge in the glade.

"The 'girl' has a name you know." He muttered before passing the phone to Ariadne.

"Hello, this is the 'girl' speaking. How may I be of assistance, General?" She said and shot Newt a knowing smile. Then she mouthed a silent 'captain Gally' to Newt and he had to clamp his hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud. Then there was a pause. 

"Yes. Yes. Of course. Yes, sir. I understand. Thank you. I'll see you tonight. Yes, sir." She finished quite seriously. She put down the phone and gulped, standing up to gather all the paperwork on her desk into one pile.

"What is it?" Newt asked at her reaction.

"It's my mother. Someone has found out about the alliance with the Right Arm and she's gone. No one knows where she is. She's called the General and given him instructions as to where the Flat-Trans is being held. We need to make sure all of the immunes are taken down into the maze along with our team. The Right Arm will arrive in precisely three hours and forty-seven minutes and they will have their attack planned. They will plant the explosives, get everyone down to the maze before the explosions are set off and we will go through the Flat-Trans before the last explosion. When it detonates it will cause a huge chain reaction to collapse the building. We need to hurry and authorise the transfer before Janson finds out the Chancellor is gone, because when he does he will have control over the entire WICKED body and we will be powerless. I'm going to need to go on my own or it will arouse suspicion. I need you to do something for me. Go up to my mother's office. The door should be unlocked. I need the button on her desk to be pushed. That will alert all of our operatives that they only have three and a half hours left before the explosions and to meet in the maze at a certain time. It is crucial that it is pushed at precisely six-thirty. Can I trust you to do that?" Ariadne asked and stopped moving to look straight into Newt's eyes.

"Of course." He nodded.

"Thank you so much. You are a lifesaver. Her office is on the top level in the Green wing, the Poppy room. You can disguise yourself with one of the security guard uniforms I stole. It’s in that closet. Thank you, I really need to go. Remember to push the button at six-thirty." She said and hurried out of the room, leaving Newt standing thinking about how familiar she was. After a moment he checked the clock on the wall. He had fifteen minutes to find the room, find the button and press it. Should be a piece of cake.


	3. It Was Not a Piece of Cake

There were a few things that Newt learned when he was trying to complete his newly assigned mission. The first was that cutting a piece of cake was relatively difficult if you don't know where the cake is. He had reached the top level of the facility but had no idea what the Green Wing was, or the Poppy Room. Was he meant to be looking for a poppy garden in a greenhouse? He wandered down the Blue winding corridors past the differently labelled doors.

The second thing he learnt was that signs could save your life if you pay attention to them. So after about five minutes of ignoring the big colourful signs, he actually stopped to read one and figured out that the four sections to each floor were colour coded into Red, Blue, Yellow and Green. He was in the Blue corridors and needed to continue to the right to find the Green section. Once he listened to the signs he found the Green section. But finding the Poppy room was going to be harder than he first thought. Five minutes were down and he only had ten left to push the button.

The third thing he learnt was that if something helps you once, use it again. So he looked at the signs again, and they told him that each wing had rooms labelled with different things. The Red section was all safari animals, the Yellow section was all birds, the Blue section was undersea animals and the Green section was all plants. The plants were in alphabetical order. So he looked for the room with the label ‘Poppy’. Once he found it he had eight minutes to spare. It was funny how he could survive living in a dangerous maze for three years, but couldn’t find his way around a building. 

Taking off the mask of the guard uniform he had disguised himself with, Newt approached the desk in the middle of the far wall and searched for a button. What greeted him instead were several tens of coloured buttons. How was he meant to know which one to press?! There was one that caught his eye. It was large and red. Glancing at his watch, a jolt of panic seared through him as he realised he had seven minutes left to push the button and he still had no idea which one it was.

Just at that moment, the doors burst open and a man in a white coat walked in. He stopped in his tracks and before Newt could so much as curse, a gun was being aimed right at his head. Newt ignored his pounding heart as he slowly crept around the desk and put his hands in the air. Then he lunged and the man shot. The bullet grazed past Newt’s side as he rushed forward, crashing into the man and knocking the gun to the floor. The WICKED worker tried to reach for his radio to call for backup but Newt saw it too and skidded across the floor, kicking it away. He checked the clock, he had five minutes left and he still didn't know which button to press. So he picked up the gun from the floor and aimed it at the man’s head.

"Don't move! You move and I shoot! I don't care what I hit! Okay!?" Newt shouted. He looked for the button and the man disappeared from his line of sight. Newt's eyes searched frantically around the room but they couldn't find their target. Hands wrapped around Newt's neck from behind and tugged him away from the buttons. Newt struggled to try and break free, clawing at the hands around his neck. Newt hit the man with the but of the gun and he collapsed to the floor.

Newt checked the clock on the wall, he had one minute to press the button. He still had no idea which one it was. He decided he'd try to push as many as he could at once, especially the big red button. The man got up again - seriously, did this guy have a metal plate in his head or something? - and grabbed onto Newt's back, attempting to haul him away from the control panel. Thirty seconds left and Newt had to push the button. Just at that moment, the door swung open and Ariadne stood there for only a moment as she registered the struggle, locking the door behind her. She hurried forward to help Newt but the man turned on her instead. Newt glanced at the clock, twenty seconds left.

"Push the button! It doesn't matter if it's a bit early." Ariadne said as she tried to put some distance between herself and the WICKED man.

"Which one? This one?" Newt asked hurriedly, fifteen seconds left.

"Which one are you talking about?" She asked, unable to take her eyes off her attacker.

"This one. The big red one. I'm going to push the big red one!" He told her and reached out to push it. Ariadne knocked into him from behind and pulled him away from the control panel, she pushed a gigantic white button in the middle labelled 'Emergency Contact, Plan Launch'. She shot him a sceptic look. Unfortunately, both of them had neglected the man, who came up behind her and held a dagger to her throat, pulling her away from the desk. She froze, fear frozen all over her face. Newt didn't know what to do. He had the gun but if he shot the man then the man would cut Ariadne's throat so they were at a standstill.

Then in a split-second decision, Newt changed his aim and sent the bullet into the man’s hand. Yelping loudly and clutching his injury close to his chest, Ariadne was able to pull away and grab him by the back of the head, bringing his face down upon her knee. Then she kicked him in the groin for good measure. Newt felt slightly sorry for the man as he watched him writhing around in the floor and moaning in pain. Then Ariadne took up a thick metal tray from the sideboard next to the desk and crashed it over his head. The man stopped moving. Ariadne blew out a breath of relief and pushed her fringe out of her face.

"Are you kidding me!? You never push the big red button! Never! Don't you watch movies!? Well, I guess you don't...but still! Everyone knows never to push the red button!" Ariadne fumed. Guilt was etched into every feature of Newt's face.

"I'm sorry, but I was stuck in a maze for three years. I just thought it stood out and I had no idea what button to press." Newt tried to defend his actions.

"Oh, you didn't see the huge white button covertly labelled exactly what we need? You never press the red button! That would have set off every alarm this place has! Our plan would have been ruined. You never push the big red button!" She started freaking out on him.

"I said I'm sorry, I didn't know! You’re being unreasonable. " Newt apologised. Why did he feel like he did something unforgivably wrong? He barely knew this girl and he had made an honest mistake. She shouldn't be grilling him like this.

"I'm...sorry, I'm just terrified. I tend to lash out when I panic. I have an anxiety disorder and I can’t really control it. It feels weird telling you this since you were actually the one who helped me through it, but you don't remember." Ariadne revealed, taking in deep breaths to calm herself. She wiped a lone tear that had trickled down her cheek. Newt didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have been so careless. Are you okay?" Newt asked and lightly touched her arm. He winced, the adrenaline had worn off and the bullet wound was starting to really hurt.

"I'm fine, but you're not!" Ariadne exclaimed, her eyes wide. "What is that?" She asked and pulled open his jacket to tug up his shirt. Newt felt uncomfortable at this but strangely pleased that he had gotten her attention too.

"It's nothing, the bullet missed me, it's just a scrape." Newt shrugged, which caused him to wince again. “I seem to have a lot of luck with these things.”

"Well, it obviously didn't miss you because you're bleeding pretty badly. We need to get you down to my office without leaving any blood. It's going to be hard but we can do it. We need to put pressure on it." Ariadne took off her white coat and scrunched it up into a ball. She then took a roll of thick bandages from her mother’s desk and pressed the coat against Newt's wound. She held her hand firmly against his stomach as she bandaged the coat to the wound tightly. Her fingers were cold. Newt shivered, but it didn't have much to do with the temperature of her hand and more to do with the thrill that it pressed against his bare skin.

"What about him?" Newt asked and pointed to the unconscious worker on the floor.

"We're going to have to kill him. He's a close assistant of Janson's and we can't leave him alive." Ariadne said. "You should go out into the hallway. I'll do it. You've seen enough death." She said, her voice trembling. Newt could tell she was frightened but he was appreciative that she would do that for him.

“It’s okay. What’s a little more death? I’ll do it.” He gripped the weapon in his hand and nodded for her to wait in the hall. 

Ariadne came out of the room and checked both ways up and down the corridor. She must have decided the coast was clear because when Newt slipped out, she started leading him towards an elevator. Newt felt so out of place in an immaculate white elevator, next to a gorgeous girl when he was covered in blood, dirt and sweat. Then he wondered how he smelt, frowning immediately afterwards. He'd never even thought about how bad he must have smelt before. The therapeutic elevator music that filled the awkward silence was a big help to calm his nerves though. NOT!  
Once they got to her office, Ariadne shut and locked the door. Dragging him over to the hospital bed, she instructed him to sit down. Working like wildfire she jetted around the room, collecting numerous tools and equipment with several bottles of liquids. Newt couldn't even begin to imagine what they were all for as he removed the jacket of his guard uniform. She cleaned her hands with an antiseptic soap and pulled up his shirt. She tried to clean all the dirt, grime and blood from the bullet graze but every time she tried she had to drop the shirt. After about the seventh time she groaned in frustration.

"Would I be sounding creepy if I asked you to take your shirt off? For medical purposes." She asked awkwardly, a dusting of blush across her cheeks. New shook his head and did what she asked. Once all the old blood was gone it was easy for her to see where a shard of bullet casing had gone through Newt's side. She took a pair of tweezers from the table and looked up at him.

"This is going to hurt, a lot. Just hold onto my shoulder and squeeze when you need to so you don't scream. The last thing we need is for someone to come in here and find us." She bent over and pressed at the area around the wound.

Then she pushed one hand against his solid abdomen and dug into his side to get a good hold on the shard of metal. Newt stifled a groan and his hand flew to her shoulder. She pulled away and sighed. Then she turned back to the table and got a needle. She stuck it into his side and Newt felt the area go numb. She dug around again and all Newt felt was a strange notion of pressure.  
After some time, Ariadne pulled out the broken, blood-caked bullet casing. She dropped it on the table and applied antiseptic before sticking a waterproof bandage patch over the affected area. When she was finished she stepped back to admire her work. Newt had to stop himself from squirming as her eyes travelled up and down his toned torso.

"You look like you could do with a shower. Wait ten minutes and then you can go just through that door. Wash up and I'll get one of our operatives to get you some new clothes." She said and left the room. Newt found himself smiling. How could one girl turn his life completely around in such a short amount of time?


	4. Thomas Couldn't Believe It

He laid on his bed, eyes glued to the shabby concrete ceiling above. Newt was alive. Thomas couldn't believe it. He was afraid to let himself fall asleep, not knowing if he could handle waking up to it all being a dream. The familiar rap of knuckles against his door jolted him from his thoughts. He had left it open, knowing she would come by. The springs on his mattress groaned as the girl sat down on the end of his bed.

"Thomas? Are you awake?" Teresa whispered through the darkness.

"Mhmm." Thomas murmured, still feeling the stir of conflicted emotions within him. She had betrayed them to WICKED...but he had once worked for WICKED too, and his friends had forgiven him. So why shouldn't he forgive her if she had really changed?

"Thomas, I need to talk to you. I know you don't want anything to do with me right now but will you please just hear me out? For old times' sake." Teresa begged. Thomas sighed and sat up, looking into her startling sapphire blue eyes.

"What is it?" He grumbled.

"You know that girl that Newt was talking about? She's Ava Paige's daughter, Ariadne. We used to call her Aria. She's part of a group of people in WICKED who are working with the Right Arm and have a plan for us all to escape. We were both a part of those people before the maze. That's why I sold you all out to WICKED. There was a plan to escape completely, but then you all got away and the plan failed so they had to think up another one. Now, do you see why I betrayed you? It was part of our plan." Teresa explained, her voice pleading with him to believe her.

"So you're saying I knew this girl Newt was talking about and her mother is the queen bee of WICKED?" Thomas said, doubting every word she said.

"You more than just knew her, Thomas. She was your twin sister." Teresa revealed and Thomas sat up straighter, his eyes wide open and alert.

"What!? I have a twin sister! My mother is Ava Paige!? That's not...It can't be true." He protested. But something niggled at the edge of his mind. A distant memory of a dark-haired girl that left as quickly as it came. "Wait a minute, I think that I just...does she have really dark brown hair?"

"Yes! I thought she was dead so I didn't tell you about her. You've had enough people you love in your life die." Teresa nodded sadly. “But now that she’s alive… this changes everything! She must have become friends with Brenda after the two of us got caught and sent up in the maze.”

"I can't believe this. I have a sister. And not just a sister, a twin sister! How could this be possible? I've never even thought about the possibility that I could have a sibling." Thomas said, smiling. He had a sister. He had a biological family outside of his Glader brothers. 

"Everybody to your bunkers, I'm coming to get you in ten! The general wants everybody ready to roll out" Lawrence yelled from the hallway. Teresa rolled her eyes.

"I'd better go. But I'll definitely see you later. We're on the same squad." Teresa mumbled and she left. Thomas rolled over and hung his arm down over the mattress. His fingertips grazed the cold stone floor and he drifted off to sleep to the sound of the squeaky ceiling fan.


	5. Cheesecake

Ariadne was finishing off some paperwork and going over last-minute preparations and plans to quiet her racing thoughts when the door to her office creaked open. She instantly slipped her hand under the desk and pressed her palm flat onto the concealed compartment. A heavy gun fell into her hand and she hid it. All this was done swiftly and covertly. She kept her head down and her pen writing.

"Miss Paige, I didn't see you in the cafeteria for lunch today. We had your favourite dessert, as well. Why have you been confined to your room today? In fact, I haven't seen you properly for the past week or so." Janson's cold voice filled the room. Darn. This was exactly what she was trying to avoid. She hoped with all her heart that Newt would take longer in the bathroom. The last thing she needed was for Newt to walk out and see her fraternising with Janson. Then she'd have to play along and he'd be put in the maze or worse. Probably the latter.

"Good evening, sir. I'm sorry, I haven't been out very much. I've got lots of paperwork to catch up on. I'm not sure how you get yours done in time, you must have some superpower we don't know about. I've barely put a dent in it and I've had it since Monday. Although now that you mention it, I wish that I had come and taken a break for lunch. I could do with a slice of cheesecake." She replied politely, looked up and smiled at him. She was so completely worried that he'd find out what she was hiding that she wouldn't have been surprised if her face was red.

"I'm sure if you go down to the kitchen, Cook might be able to give you a slice. I'm not sure if there were extras though." Janson smiled and his eyes swept the room. When he was satisfied that nothing unusual was going on he turned to leave. Just as he was leaving the handle to the bathroom jiggled and Ariadne froze in her spot. The door opened just a crack and she saw Newt's adorable brown eyes staring at her. Janson's back was still turned so she frantically motioned for him to get back inside and stay there. His eyes widened as he realised who she was talking to. Ratman. Janson. He quickly disappeared from the door and luckily Janson didn't hear him at all.

"I actually have to go and supervise an animal experiment downstairs. Would you like to accompany me? You always loved seeing experiments." Janson smiled. He was testing her and she knew it.  
He was onto something. He may not have known that Newt was in the bathroom but he did know something. If she had made an excuse saying she had to finish her paperwork he wouldn't believe her and he would be able to tell for sure she was in on whatever he suspected was going on. But if she left the room to go with him it meant he could send in operatives to freely search the room and he had her right where he wanted her. Either way, he won. So she added in a variable that wasn't there in the first place.

"I would love to come, but you know how much I really hate working on an empty stomach. I think I'll go down to the kitchens and ask Cook if he has an extra piece of cheesecake." She giggled and patted her stomach. Luckily for her, she was actually hungry and her stomach rumbled loudly. He nodded to her and walked out. A few minutes passed and when she was sure he had gone she breathed an audible sigh of relief. She shoved the gun into her waistband.

"Can I come out now?" Newt whispered from the bathroom. Ariadne craned her neck to see inside the open door. She scurried over, popped her head into the hallway and checked both ways before closing the door.

"Yes, it's safe now. Man, that was close!" Ariadne huffed. "We have to go and meet the General in the air space in about an hour. Everyone will be occupied with dinner apart from our operatives who will be on duty for the maze and other immunes. My mother tweaked with the schedule so that everyone on our side would be in the places they need to be for the escape."

"Okay. I'm sorry about your mother by the way. I'm sure she'll show up sooner or later." Newt said quietly and touched her arm.   
Ariadne looked to the floor, ignoring the longing that settled in her bones for her to run into his arms and break down and tell him everything. But she couldn’t. The boy in front of her wasn’t the same person she had known before the maze, and unless he got his memories back, he never would be that person again. She had lost him. So instead of opening up, she built towering walls around herself, selecting to only open a small window of information that her Newt would have already known.

"I don't think so. If she doesn't show up by seven she'll be blown up with the rest of the building. She's probably already dead. It’s okay, though. I’ll get over it eventually, just like I have to deal with everything else. She was a lot more like a boss than she ever was as a mother. All I ever wanted was for her to be proud of me, but Thomas...Thomas was always perfect. I was flawed. She never wanted a daughter. She was too afraid that she'd have competition. She always had to be the best. My dad was the one who wanted a girl, not my mother. But my dad went missing and no one knows where he went." Ariadne said softly.

At that moment Newt was sure she was broken. He swore to himself he would be the one to pick up the pieces and put her back together. He didn't know why he felt as if he had to protect her but he would do what he had to. He always knew that Thomas would have been WICKED’s favourite but what connection did Ariadne have with Thomas? Newt felt a surge of what he could only describe as jealousy.

"Maybe you'll find them. Some day." Newt smiled at her reassuringly.

"Yeah, when I'm dead." She snorted and turned towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Newt panicked and grabbed her. She paused and her eyes flickered down to their connected hands. Ariadne cleared her throat and shook her head as if getting rid of a thought or feeling.

"Well, I take it you're hungry. I'm starving and I want some of that cheesecake that was for dessert at lunch." She explained, pulling on that professional facade she seemed to slip into often. Newt frowned.

"Dessert? After lunch? Back in the glade, we'd be lucky to have dessert after dinner once every couple of months." He asked. Ariadne smirked at him.

"Come with me. Let's go down to the kitchens. Cook has a bit of a soft spot for me. He'll grumble and complain about me eating through all his cheesecake but it's all in good jest." She shrugged and continued to the door.

"Wait, won't anyone notice me?" He asked, confused at her. Only a moment ago she was petrified of him being found and now they were just going to go barging into the kitchens.

"Well, obviously we're not going to go waltzing around the corridors! I have a secret passageway just down the hall, I use it early in the morning or late at night when I want something to eat. I just sneak in, grab it and sneak back here." Ariadne rolled her eyes at him and said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world that she would have a secret passageway to get food. "Plus, you're clean now, no one would recognise you."

"There isn't that much of a difference!" Newt shot back, slightly offended.

"Yes, there is. For one, you smell much better, and secondly, you look a lot cuter when you're clean. How's the bullet hole?" She said and immediately tried to change the subject. Newt froze. Did she just call him cute? Ariadne scolded herself for letting that slip. After all, there was a time when she'd say that with no hesitation but he doesn't remember anything that was between them.

"Oh, uh. It's fine, I guess. Whatever you put on it must have been pretty strong ‘cause I can't feel it." Newt stuttered.  
Ariadne, still holding his hand, tugged him out into the corridor and pulled him along to a large mirror. She reached up on the tips of her toes to try and reach the top left corner of the mirror. At that moment a pair of shoes clipped and clopped on the marble floor down the corridor to the left. The brunette panicked and her fingers fumbled over whatever it was she was looking for. Newt's arms encircled her waist and lifted her up.

"Woah!" She muttered when he was able to lift her up almost impossibly high and steady. There was a faint click and the mirror swung open. Ariadne scrambled to get out of Newt's grasp but as the footsteps grew nearer he became desperate not to get caught. So he threw her over his shoulder and ducked down so her head didn't hit the top of the passageway, closing the door behind him.

"Newt! What the heck?! How strong are you? You've changed a lot in the glade." She exclaimed and when he put her down she looked him up and down. Her eyebrows raised appreciatively.

"How?" Newt frowned. He wondered if she knew him as a puny little coward.

"When we were friends you were a stick figure. Well, more of a stick figure than you are now, at least. I was taller than you when we first met and as you started going through your growth spurt we used to compare our heights every day as a little competition. Until one day you were taller than me. I was still stronger, though." She reached up as if to run her hand through his hair, but she quickly retracted her hand. "But you wouldn't remember that. WICKED just had to wipe your memories." She said bitterly.

"You know, this is the first time I've ever really wanted to get my memories back." He admitted. A loud rumbling caused him to jump and Ariadne laughed. She had a very pretty laugh.

"Calm down, Newt. It's just my stomach. All that time I spent looking after you made me hungry." She teased him. He shot her a playful glare.

"You gave me a shucking heart attack, that bloody stomach of yours seemingly loves complaining." He grumbled.

"You always used to say that my stomach spoke more than I did. But that was before we became friends and I almost bled your ears dry from talking." Ariadne rolled her eyes and Newt followed her through the tunnel. It was dark but there were still lights on the ceiling. Some flickered and some let out small bursts and showers of golden sparks but others were just plain dead.

The tunnel was a bit too similar to the broken down tunnels in the ruins of the skyscrapers in the Scorch. Newt didn't like it one bit. In fact, he would have turned right back around and risked himself being seen by WICKED. This tunnel was exactly like the ones he and the cranks had used to get around the city. But Ariadne was there with him and she made his nerves settle.  
A very pleasant smell invaded Newt's nostrils. He sniffed at the air and tried to guess what it was. Then when he realised what it was he stopped in his tracks. Pizza. The same meal that they had been given by WICKED operatives after being supposedly rescued from the ruined control room after exiting the maze. He second-guessed everything he was doing. Ariadne took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"It's okay, not all Pizza means you're doomed." She smiled and shook her head, wishing him to drop it. He relaxed, but his muscles were still a bit tense in apprehension. At the end of the long tunnel, they reached another cardboard panel that Newt guessed was the back of a mirror. Ariadne went over to a stool that was kept tucked away in the corner. It looked absolutely ancient. She dragged it over to the mirror and stretched her leg as high as it could reach, trying to get on the very high stool. Newt saw what she was doing and held her hand to help her up. She thanked him and pulled a lever at the top left corner of the back of the mirror. It swung open and Ariadne replaced the stool before following Newt out. The kitchen was darker than the tunnel, and colder too.

The girl made her way like an expert through the dark without making a sound. Newt, on the other hand, banged his knee against a very short stool, tripping over it and sprawling face-first across the ground, into a trolley filled with cutlery. The entire ordeal made a large crash, screech and squeaking sound. Newt winced and Ariadne jumped about a foot into the air.

"What are you doing?!" She whispered and bent over to help him up.

"Do you really think I meant to knock my bloody knee against that bloody stool, slide face-first against the bloody floor, hit my head into a bloody trolley and then make a whole lot of bloody noise?!" He groaned as he stood up, shook out his knee and rubbed his head.

"Well, you did it with such ease, I thought it must have been on purpose." Ariadne rolled her eyes, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Let's just get the cake and get out of here."

"Good that." Newt replied before he fell into a table and knocked a hanging pot down. It smashed onto the floor with a clang. The lights behind them turned on and two guards ran swiftly down the kitchen towards them. Ariadne froze and they both slowly turned around.


	6. Caught

Ariadne froze and the duo slowly turned around to be faced with two WICKED guards.

"Put your hands up or we'll shoot." One of them said. He was tall and dark with muscles that seemed to bulge more than the veins of cranks. The two did as they were told and Ariadne shot Newt a glare.

"I didn't know that cheesecake made the contraband list this year." She sassed.

"Miss Paige? Oh, we had no idea it was you." The short guard said, a dreamy look on his face. 

"Yeah, I'm sure." She rolled her eyes.

"Miss Paige, I'm afraid I will have to ask you what you are doing here with this boy." The taller and obviously more professional man said respectfully.

"I was just hungry and I came down for some cheesecake. I didn't know that having a boyfriend was illegal." She snorted and Newt almost choked on his own tongue. Boyfriend?! Newt knew she was just covering for them but he couldn't help but feel a flutter rise inside his chest and wonder where it came from. 

"I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you both to come with me. It's simple protocol. I'm sure you understand." The taller man said sternly.

"Oh. And you just think we'll go with you merrily and we'll all dance along rainbows with unicorns that secrete cookies?" She said and pranced around in a circle on her toes. “Not gonna happen, boys.”

When the officers turned around to call for backup Ariadne sprung into action, jumping onto the table and grabbing two frying pans that were hanging from the rack above. She crouched into a forward roll and when she came out of it, she landed sitting on the end of the table with her legs dangling over the end. Throwing the frying pans straight at the guards, she sent them stumbling backwards before they could even turn on their radios. Hopping off the table, she made her way to the security guards groaning on the floor. They had both hit their heads on the marble bench and most probably had concussions.

Ariadne strutted over to the shorter security guard and planted her foot on his chest, twisting his arm and pulling at the same time. Newt heard the sickening crack of the bone breaking and the pop of the shoulder separating from its socket. The security guard screeched and Ariadne smashed one of the pans down onto his head, knocking him out and cutting off the screams. He winced. She was ruthless.

She looked over to Newt who was grinning at her, completely impressed. In the split moment that she was distracted the taller security guard came up behind her and twisted her arm behind her back before Newt could warn her. She cried out in pain and bent over. The guard pushed her down to her knees and kneeled on her lower back. A rush of anger hit Newt like a wave at the beach during a thunderstorm. He raged forward just as the security guard started pelting down knees into the same spot on her back. Ariadne yelled out in pain every time but she gritted her teeth, refusing to beg or plead.

The security guard had forgotten all about Newt and was focusing on bringing pain to his current target. Newt hauled the guard away from Ariadne, threw him violently to the floor and showered him with punches and kicks. Ariadne's whimpers of pain from behind him as she tried to move from her position on her knees brought more fury into his strikes and not long had passed before the security guard was unable to move, moaning crumpled on the floor.

"Don't you ever touch her again!" He snarled, and it wasn't just an open threat either. When the protective anger faded, he looked at what he had done with horror, remembering the urges of bloodlust that had sent him attacking Thomas. No, he was cured. It wasn’t the Flare. It couldn’t be, he told himself. Ariadne's cries brought him back to reality, Newt spun around to help her. She was gasping and trying to slowly crawl on her hands and knees but was failing dismally. Newt's eyes widened when the back of her shirt slid up her back and he saw her the purple bruises already forming beneath her swollen skin. He knew she had been very badly injured.

"Ari? Ariadne? Don't try to move. Just stop. There's a little bit of a problem..." Newt tried to break it to her slowly but she wasn't stupid.

"I'm not an idiot, Newt! I know that I've probably jarred or maybe even fractured my back! But I can fix it. We just need to get back to the lab in time. I don't think I can walk." Ariadne winced as she tried to crawl forward again.

"Ariadne stop. I am not asking you, I'm telling you. Now stop. You looked after me and now you are going to slim it and I'm going to look after you, okay?" Newt ordered her. She ignored him so he tried to pick her up but she pushed him away and attempted to get up on her own, not wanting to rely on him. When she screamed again Newt had to grit his teeth to stop himself from yelling at her. He knew she wouldn't listen so he spun her over, slipping an arm behind her injured back to stop any further damage and pinned her down on the floor. Kneeling on her thighs, he held her forearms down above her head with his free hand so she wouldn't be able to throw him off.

"You are going to hurt yourself even worse. So stop moving." Newt broke down his message. 

Once she had stopped moving Newt was second-guessing pinning her down. A strange fire began burning in the pit of his stomach as he realised their intimate position. She looked up at him hopefully through a haze of tears, breathing heavily with her chest was rising and falling. Newt felt the blush creep into his cheeks along in intense embarrassment.

"I'm sorry. I...it just brought back some memories and I...I flipped out." She said quietly, in her sweet voice and Newt gulped at the connotations of her words. Had someone hit her before? He hurriedly crawled off of her and stood up straight, scratching the back of his neck.

"It's fine. I'm just trying to think of a way to get you back to your office without hurting you." He told her.

"It's okay, Newt. I'm a big, tough girl. I can take care of myself, I’ve been alone ever since...well my point is that I'm used to pain and I can take it. I'm stronger than I look. All I have to do is inject this healing serum and my body will mend itself. Moving will be hard for the next few hours, though.." Ariadne said and she tried to get up. She managed to stand but she cried out again. Newt couldn't handle hearing her in pain like that so he just picked her up in his arms. She screamed a little to begin with but then it grew comfortable. Or bearable at least.

"Sorry. But there isn't much I could bloody do about it." Newt apologised referring to her pain. She clenched her jaw and nodded as Newt took her back to the passageway. "Do you think it's safe to leave those bodies there?" Newt asked as they made their way through the tunnels.

"It should be okay. No one goes in the basement kitchen unless they're cooking and all the food has already been taken up to the hall for dinner. We only have around forty minutes until we meet with the right arm." Ariadne said rapidly. “I bet you're excited to see your friends again.”

"Uh, yeah. I suppose so. It doesn't really feel like I've seen them just last week. It feels like it's been months but I guess that's just because of the disease." Newt said, slightly uncomfortable with the topic of his previous condition.

"Don't stop talking. Please. Just tell me about the Glade. Or the Scorch. Anything to get my mind off this stupid injury. I've never been anywhere other than WICKED and the mansion my uncle had me imprisoned in." Ariadne requested. Newt frowned.

"Imprisoned?" He gasped.

"Well, I've never been aloud out. I don't really want to talk about that." Ariadne snapped, her tone was icy. Then her voice thawed and she apologised. "Sorry, it's just a very...tender subject. Tell me about the world."

"Well, I barely know anything about the world. It was horrible. I never thought I'd say this but I miss the Glade. It was home. And it was much better than the bloody Scorch. I miss the green, the forest, the grass, the homestead, the bonfires. I always loved those. It wasn't that bad, now that I've seen how the world really is. I don't blame Alby for doing what he did. I would have too. The Scorch was like a giant beach without the water and there were mounds of sand so high and steep that we were walking but not getting anywhere. Even after we left the Scorch and got into the city we were finding sand in places that I would never name in front of a lady such as yourself." Newt grinned.

"Oh, please. I am no lady, Newt." Ariadne snorted. They almost reached the end of the tunnel.

"Well you are a female and that's close enough for me. I think you are forgetting that you are in the company of a teenage boy who has spent all of what he can remember of his life surrounded by other boys, with the obvious exception of Teresa, Harriet, Sonya and Brenda in the recent weeks." Newt laughed.

"Teresa, Brenda, Harriet and Sonya are all really smart. And pretty." Ariadne said and watched his face for his reaction. Newt looked at her sceptically.

"Are you seriously suggesting that I may or may not have a thing with one of the four girls?" Newt asked her.

"I may or may not be," Ariadne said vaguely.

"Yeah, well for any doubts, I do not. Teresa and Brenda are both crazy for Thomas. I think Harriet and Minho have a bit of a thing going on and Sonya...well, I don't know. She reminds me of someone but I don't know who." Newt frowned. He frowns a lot more than he used to, Ariadne thought to herself, drawing a comparison between this Newt and her Newt.

"Sonya is your little sister," Ariadne revealed and Newt scrunched up his face. “Her real name was Lizzie. You forgot your own name but you told me you’d never forget hers. You loved her so much, Newt. You were always looking out for her. She’s lucky to have you as her brother.”

Sonya was his sister? He had a family? It didn't sit right with him that he had spoken to her without having any inkling of knowing who she was to him. WICKED was cruel that way, and in many more. He didn’t even remember her, and she had obviously been such an important part of his life before the maze. How could he be a stranger to someone he had once loved so much? The concept was heartbreaking. 

"How many other people have siblings that they never will know about?" Newt asked, disgusted that WICKED could just take people away from their family as they did.

"I'm not sure. It's barbaric. I know how you feel. My twin brother doesn’t even know I exist anymore. His name was Stephen, before it was changed. We weren’t all that close before he got put in the maze trials. Our mother kept us separated so I wouldn’t corrupt him. We never even lived together as a family from what I can remember. He was brought up by our aunt and then got taken to WICKED with a bunch of other kids to be with our mother and I was with my father, until he got hired by WICKED too. They left me with my Uncle until he caught the flare and I found him dead in the kitchen one night, when I was seven. It was horrible. He was just lying there, staring up at the ceiling with a smashed bottle of beer and blood pouring from his ears and eyes. I didn't even know he had the flare. He used to hit me and kick me and scare me on purpose just to see me scream and cry and then he'd laugh at me. I hated him. But then I found out it wasn't his fault. Is it bad? To think about him like that when he couldn't help it?" Ariadne's eyes welled, but Newt wasn't sure if it was from the pain of her injury, or emotional pain of her horrible childhood. It made him think that maybe it was better he didn't remember his own past. Would he have had a similar story? Was it better to remember? Was knowing who you were and where you came from and the people you loved worth also feeling the pain and loss? Was Ariadne’s uncle what he would have turned into if she hadn’t cured him? He banished those thoughts from his mind. They finally reached the opening to the corridor and he had to lean Ariadne into one of his arms so he could reach up and push the lever on the back of the mirror. Newt wondered who her brother was and if he knew him.

"You have every right to hate him," Newt reassured her, feeling the overwhelming guilt of his own actions. Ariadne jumped in Newt's arms, startled by the loud smash of the mirror hitting against the wall. Newt winced.

"No, I don't think I do. It was the disease that took over. It wasn't my uncle. Just like it wasn't you doing all those things." her eyes traced his face, somehow reading his mind.   
Ignoring her comment, not entirely believing her, Newt shifted her back into both of his arms and closed the mirror quietly this time, using his foot. He snuck up the hallway and silently opened, entered and closed the door to Ariadne's office.

"Okay, thanks Newt. Just put me down on the hospital bed and - OUCH!" Ariadne shrieked when Newt lay her down on her back. He cringed. "Not like that! On my stomach!"

"Sorry! That was bloody stupid of me." Newt apologised, mentally face-palming, and put her down in her side.

"In that set off drawers to your left, there should be a big syringe with a murky liquid in the second drawer from the bottom. Could you get that for me?" She asked.  
Newt did what she said. Ariadne rolled up her shirt and stuck the needle into her back, she groaned and gritted her teeth whilst she injected the liquid into her body. When all the liquid had been drained from the syringe she pulled it out from her skin with a gasp and set it on the sideboard.

"Okay, it should kick in within a few minutes and I don't want to be awake when that happens. Could you get me the sleep tablets from the same draw?" Ariadne requested and laid her head down on the pillow.

"Sure, but why do you need to be asleep?" Newt frowned again.

"Any damage would be mended very rapidly. That would be excruciatingly painful and I'd pass out anyway." Ariadne looked at him with a forgiving smile that seemed to set him on fire. He turned away so she wouldn't see his red face and passed her the tablets she wanted and a glass of water from the kitchenette.

"Thanks, Newt. Keep an eye on the door and don't let anyone in. Wake me up if you need me." She instructed and popped the tablets into her mouth, taking a large swig of her water and nestling down into the blankets. Newt sat down next to the, now asleep, Ariadne and stared at her face. He felt that niggling feeling at the edges of his memory again. She was familiar somehow. He knew that they were friends before the maze, but the butterflies in his stomach told him that there was more to her story.


	7. Flee

Ariadne was roused from her sleep by the sound of a repetitive beeping noise. She grumbled about it shutting up and wiped her eyes. The device that was making the infernal racket was her wristwatch. It was flashing a sequence of glowing white numbers but Ariadne was still groggy and couldn't be bothered to decipher what they were. 

"Ariadne? What is that noise?" Newt's voice filled her ears but she just wanted to go back to sleep. Then she heard him curse and her protective instincts kicked in. Her eyes shot wide open to see that her entire workshop had been trashed. Newt was standing next to her with his hands over his ears.

"What the hell happened here!" Ariadne exclaimed and took in her shaken surroundings.

"Are you telling me you didn't hear that huge explosion! The entire floor just shook." Newt yelled at her. “I’ve been trying to wake you up for ages!” 

She cursed and got straight out of the bed, rummaged through the cupboards and picked up two backpacks, slinging one over her shoulder and thrusting the other into Newt's hands. Then she grabbed a syringe that Newt guessed had pain relief because it looked identical to the one he had been given earlier, and she jabbed it into her back.

"That was the first explosion! And we're twenty-three levels up! My watch was beeping to tell us it was six-thirty. We have to get out of here and to the basement or we'll get blown up!" Ariadne explained and the response was another loud bang from right behind them, and the back wall of Ariadne's office and adjoining apartment sank through the floor into a gaping hole in the building.

The lights flickered before they died out completely. Ariadne inched forward towards the gaping hole and peered down. It was about twenty meters in depth and fifteen meters wide. She was almost entranced by the sight until Newt grabbed her hand and hauled with him out the door.

They bolted down the stairs but the building gave another tremor as the next explosion went off. The staircase started to collapse with Ariadne and Newt tumbled down a few flights before gripping the lower banister rails and hauling themselves back up onto the crumbling stairs. There was another explosion in the building next to them and it fell sideways, leading towards where they were struggling to escape. Newt glimpsed it through the cracked window and dragged Ariadne down the corridor of the level and away from the stairs just as they were destroyed.

"Those stairs were too dangerous. We have to find another way down. We can't use an elevator. The secret passageways! The kitchen is in the basement, right? We just have to find another entrance to the passageway!" Newt shouted to Ariadne over the rumble of the collapsing building. Ariadne nodded fiercely, she was trying to ignore the pain in her back.

"Yeah, the passageways would keep us from running into those things, too!" Ariadne screamed and pointed to a bunch of cranks who were crawling up the buildings and in through the smashed glass. Newt grabbed her hand and pulled her back around the corner and they ran in the other direction.

"Bloody hell! Where's the nearest passage?" Newt cursed as two cranks had started following them through the building, slowly being joined by several other cranks at each turn.

"There! The mirror! I'm too short to reach the lever fast enough. You have to open it! I'll hold off the cranks when they get close! Hurry!" Ariadne instructed and took her gun from the backpack.  
She held it out at the oncoming cranks as Newt fiddled with the lock. Ariadne began shooting the nearest cranks in the head and they were falling down and tripping the other cranks. After six shots her gun was empty and she cursed and tucked it away into her waistband.

"Newt, I'm gonna need you to hurry up!" She yelled as she got out another, larger gun from her backpack. "I'm running out of lethal weapons to kill them with!"

"I'm trying but it's stuck!" Newt protested. Ariadne started shooting all of the cranks and the oncoming group ran out of creatures to come at her. All but one determined crank, who had managed to dodge all of the bullets and lunged at her snarling and spraying her with its blood and spit. She lifted her gun and aimed but when she squeezed the trigger there was only a small clicking noise.

"Shoot! I'm all out! Hurry up, Newt!" She shouted desperately and threw her gun at the crank in a last-ditch attempt. Then she remembered the knives in her pack and grabbed at her bag for them. But as she twisted, her back shot a spike of pain up her torso and she stumbled, allowing the crank to get a tight grip on her leg and start to drag her away from Newt.

"Newt!" She screeched, her eyes wide open in terror as she heard the click of the door opening and caught sight of a pack of cranks rushing onto the scene, presumably to join their fellow monster in a feast. And she was the main course. The crank had dragged her right into the feeding frenzy and the others started grabbing at her in an attempt to tear off her limbs. She wriggled away while the cranks started fighting among each other for dibs on the best parts.

The blonde boy came up behind her, swinging a broken table leg in a wide arc and taking off several rotting heads in the process. One particularly gruesome head landed in Ariadne's lap and she shrieked, flinging it away from herself. Another rotted hand reached for Newt's arm and when the creature had gotten a good grip he went to bite down. Ariadne stuck out her leg and tripped the crank over but it fell on top of her instead, roaring in her face. Newt hauled the crank away and tossed him into the remaining cranks who went down like bowling pins. The blond dragged Ariadne up and she hurried with him to the passageway. Another group of cranks had started staggering for them from the opposite side of the corridor and they reached Ariadne and Newt just as they were climbing through the secret door.

Several decomposing arms slipped their way through the crack and grasped for the teenagers. The duo pressed their backs up against the door and shut it closed, chopping off the arms. They twitched on the ground and Ariadne had to stop her last meal from resurfacing.

"That's disgusting." She gulped and Newt drew her into a tight hug.

"Bloody hell! I thought I'd lost you." He mumbled into her hair.

"Why did you do that! You could have died! You should have just left me there!" Ariadne shouted and pushed him away from her, not trusting herself to keep her walls up in such a compromising position. She had to be strong and pretend him being there with her after so long didn’t mean as much to her as it really did. 

"Hey, Ari, you saved my life, I'll save yours. That's just how we Gladers work. Plus, I know I've just met you but we were friends before this and I don't know if I could handle losing another friend. Especially not you." He stated, clearly embarrassed. The walls and floor shook again.

"That's our queue to keep moving." She sighed and dropped the subject. "We have to hurry and get down before the final explosion. We're lucky the siege on this building will stop for about ten minutes to blow up the unimportant buildings on the sides. We'd better run."

"Can you run?" Newt asked her, frowning, the concern could be clearly seen in his eyes and heard in his voice. Ariadne winced as she readjusted the backpack on her shoulders and continued down the tunnel at a faster pace.

"I'm fine, Newt. I injected the pain relief so it's not as bad as it would have been. When it wears off it'll be sore, but we don't really have any other choice." She grumbled and they began to sprint down the sloped tunnels.

"How will we know which tunnel to get out from?" Newt asked. 

"We have to meet in the exit to the maze at the Griever hole and there are only two ways there. The path through the building is collapsing as we speak, so we have to go into the glade itself and hope that they haven't left without us. But even if they have I've memorised the maze and you know it like the back of your hand." Ariadne explained and the two pushed themselves to go faster.


	8. Happy Reunion

Minho led the way through the maze, his shoulders squared as he ran with pride in the place he had earned as the Keeper of the Runners. The maze was his domain, and he was the king. It was twisted, but they were home. Thomas, Gally, Lawrence, Brenda, Teresa, Jorge, Harriet, Aris and Sonya all followed close behind him. Everyone else in the Right Arm had either been used as a decoy and were taken into the Glade with the other immunes or had the disease and sacrificed themselves to blow up the remains of the building.

Thomas looked up around him as he ran at the looming stone walls, laced in long green ivy and moss. These walls marked the death of so many. Chuck, Jeff, Ben and all the other boys who hadn't made it. Chuck. The thought of the child brought tears to Thomas's eyes. 

"Hey? Are you alright?" Teresa's shoulder bumped into him, jerking him back to reality.

Thomas felt the urge to spill every secret he had to her. That he had shot his best friend in the head with the intention of killing him. That he was nervous to see his sister who he remembered nothing about. That he was struggling with the idea that Ava Paige - the woman who had put them through so much - was his mother. That he hated WICKED for murdering all their friends, the only people they could remember. But instead he just nodded and silently continued with his running.

He tried to forgive Teresa for what she did, but no matter how hard he tried he hadn't been able to get over what she'd done. She had betrayed them and kissed Aris. That scene was embedded in his head. How could she do that to him? After everything they had been through she just shoved his heart through a meat grinder as if it was one of Winston's freshly sliced pigs. But she was there with him at that moment. Thomas shook his head to clear the poison thoughts that were invading his brain. He put his head down and ran.

As they ventured deeper into the unforgiving cold stone maze that had been used as a death trap, the group reached a certain ivy-covered wall that Thomas remembered vividly. Alby. He saw the scramble in the vines where he had hoisted up their leader in a last-ditch attempt to save his life only for him to die just days later, his mind never fully cured of the Griever's venom. Anger and grief boiled inside Thomas like liquid lava until he and the rest of the group were finally greeted by the large stone doors. 

Remembering all too well the struggle during his first night in the maze, Thomas ran through one of the four entrances with his friends. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the hundreds of people gathered into the Glade. In their home. It didn't take long before the large group of people had stopped their murmuring and turned to face the new arrivals.

"Shucking hell. They make the glade feel so much smaller than it did when we were here." Thomas whispered to Minho, who nodded in agreement. The Gladers took in what was left of their home. The homestead, the blood house, the charred map room, the dead fields, the deadheads, the extinguished bonfire, the tower that Teresa had climbed up when she first arrived, and the slammer. So many emotions and memories bubbled up inside Thomas.

"Hey, daydreamer!" Minho snapped his fingers at Thomas. "I asked you if you could see Newt."

"Oh-uh, no. I don't think so." Thomas replied sadly, heart falling as his dark eyes scanned the faces. 

"Gally said Newt and your sister were supposed to meet us when we first flew in here. They've already blown up the building that they were in. You don’t reckon they didn’t make it, do you?" The usually confident Minho’s bravado faltered.

"Ariadne sounds like a miracle worker and is way too smart to get stuck in a collapsing building and Newt is...well Newt is Newt." Thomas said defiantly.

"I get your point but look around, Thomas. Do you see them anywhere? Because I don't." Minho began heatedly and threw his hands up in the air. "They are just regular kids like us. They aren't shucking superheroes who just fall out of the sky!"

Thomas groaned as something dropped on his head from the grey, fake sky, that was actually a ceiling. "What the shuck?" He grumbled and bent down to pick up a backpack. "Where did this come from?"

"Sorry, Tommy! We just had to see how far it was down!" A boy's voice with a thick British accent called down to Thomas. But Thomas was surprised that it was coming from on top of him. He looked up to see a trapdoor in the grey sky of the glade. Now that the illusion had been dropped they could see that the ceiling wasn't very far up. Not too long after the bag came down, Newt slipped down a rope and dropped to the floor as well. Minho engulfed their friend in a tight hug.

"Newt! How'd you get out, you ugly shank?" Minho exclaimed happily.

"That's a story for a little later Minho, I want you to meet someone." Newt grinned and blushed. Then he stretched his head up to look back upon the trapdoor. "Okay, Ari! We made it in time. Just slide down the rope and jump. It's not too far!" He called. Thomas's ears perked up. Ari? That must be Ariadne, his sister.

"Newt! I can't just jump down! My back, remember!" A girl's voice could be heard from above. Minho made a show of craning his neck to try and see her.

"What's wrong with her back?" Thomas asked, concerned for his sister's welfare even though the only thing he could even remember was that she was a brunette.

"Don't worry about a bloody thing, Tommy. She hurt her back but it should be fine." Newt reassured him before directing his speech back up to Ariadne. "Just jump down and Minho and I will catch you."

"Are you sure?" She asked nervously.

"Positive," Minho smirked suggestively and Newt hit him in the back of the head.

"Minho, your hair’s messed up." Newt muttered to his friend. Minho's hands immediately flew to his hair.

"What! Wait, I need to fix it. I can't have a gorgeous genius girl see me with bad hair!" He complained and fluffed up his hair.

"Your hair's fine, I was just messing with you." Newt chastised his friend’s reaction.

"Shuck you, Slint head." Minho scowled.

"Can you two stop fighting and get me out of here!" Ariadne yelled at them from above, where she was clinging to the end of the long rope meters above their heads and Thomas couldn't agree with her more.

"Sure, Ari. Just jump down." Newt told her and she did, landing in Newt's arms as Minho was too busy checking his hair in his knife.

"Thanks, love." She patted Newt on the chest and jumped out of his arms. When she saw Thomas her eyes widened and she bounded towards him, flinging her arms around his neck.

"Thomas! You're alive! I've missed you so much! Oh my gosh! I can't believe it!" Ariadne was clinging onto him like a lifeline and he hugged her back.

"Does he remember her?" Newt whispered to Minho as he jealously watched the whole exchange, a scowl and glare sculpted onto his face.

"A little, he's her twin brother." Minho snorted at the Blond’s reaction.

"Oh, shuck," Newt mumbled and turned the colour of beetroot. He ran a hand through his hair nervously.

Meanwhile, Frankie, one of the few boys from another maze had come up behind Thomas and introduced himself to Ariadne.

"Well, well, well. What pretty lady do we have here?" He said flirtatiously and Newt's face was embedded with another scowl.

"Hi, I'm Ariadne." She smiled sweetly at him and he looked her up and down, making Ariadne's smile falter.

"Frankie, this is my twin sister," Thomas said pointedly at the boy who seemed not to hear him.

"So, sugar, did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" He asked her with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, right. Well, I can assure you that whatever it was I fell from up there, it wasn't heaven." Ariadne snorted and turned her back on the boy, heading to Newt and Minho. "The whole building started exploding around us and to top it all off, we were attacked by cranks. Newt saved my ass up there."

"And how lucky we are that he did." Frankie could be heard jeering at her from where he was standing with his group of friends behind. Ariadne ignored him and focused on her friends.

"Thanks, by the way." She said to Newt.

"For what?" Newt frowned.

"Well, you saved my life. I think that deserves a ‘thank you’. I mean, you could have just let those cranks eat me but you risked your life to save me instead." She nodded at him and he smiled.

"Well, you are very welcome. And thanks to you, too. For saving my life." He smiled at her. They heard Thomas telling Frankie off for drooling over Ariadne because she was his sister and Ariadne turned several bright shades of red. Newt thought he'd get involved before things took an uncomfortable turn.

"So how are we going to do this?" He asked Thomas when the boy had finally dealt with Frankie.

"Can't be that hard," Thomas muttered but no one heard him as they were swamped by their friends, Frypan, Clint and Sonya and there were other bursts of reunions and hugs all around.  
Frypan swatted Thomas's shoulder. "Hey, Thomas. It's good to see you again! Can you believe they put me back in here? They didn't even let me cook! The kitchen doesn't even work. There's no electricity, nothing."

"If you thought cooking for fifty guys is hard, imagine cooking for this army." Thomas laughed. Frypan grinned.

"Funny man, Thomas. You are a funny man." Then his eyes got big. " Gally?! Gally's here! Gally's alive?!"

"Nice to see you too." The hostile boy responded drily.

"Yeah, long story. Gally's a good guy now." Thomas clapped Frypan on the back, to which Gally scoffed but didn't respond.

Minho stepped into the mix. "Alright, happy reunion time is over. So just how do you think we're going to do this?"

"Shouldn't be too hard." Thomas lied. He actually hated the fact that they'd have to funnel all these people through the maze and then into the Griever hole where the Flat-Trans was set up. Still, it had to be done.

"Don't feed me that klunk," Minho sighed. "Your eyes don't lie."

"Well, look on the bright side. At least we have the numbers if the situation arises and we have to fight." Newt shrugged. He was in a good mood. Why was he in a good mood? Thomas's brain went into overdrive. Could it possibly have something to do with his sister?

"Are you serious? Look at these guys! Half of them are younger than us and the other half look as if they've never won an arm wrestle, let alone fistfight!" Minho exclaimed, sounding disgusted. But Ariadne came to their rescue.

"Well, unlike you, a lot of these people haven’t been trained to survive in extreme environments. They don't have the experience you do. And I guess I'm in the same boat as them so if you want to go on without us, be my guest. I'll get them out myself." She stepped forward and narrowed her eyes at Minho menacingly.

"Woah, calm your t-" Minho began but Newt shot him a dirty look. "Just chill, okay, greenie? That's not what I'm saying. I was just stating the fact that it will be a challenge, even for someone of my physical stature and superior awesomeness, to get them all out. I wasn't suggesting we leave anyone behind."

"I missed you, Minho." Ariadne smiled genuinely at him and then laughed at his shocked reaction. "You know I was just messing with you, don't you? I'm not that crabby. We used to have this sort of thing going all the time. Usually, we'd get into a small fight and I'd kick your ass and then me, Newt and Alby would laugh at you."

"Yeah, that's so hilarious, I forgot how to laugh," Minho said sarcastically. Thomas searched the crowd for Teresa and he called her over. Then he found Brenda and Jorge.

“Aria! I’m so glad you’re alive! I thought they would have killed you after we got caught!” Teresa embraced her long lost friend. 

“I’m so relieved that you’re okay. I’m so sorry I couldn’t have done more to help you, Teresa.” Ariadne gripped the other girl tightly. 

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Teresa asked as she pulled away. If Teresa was really with them this was when Thomas needed her the most, and all the knowledge she had from her memories.

"Okay, let's split them into groups," Ariadne took charge. "There's got to be around five hundred people so we should have groups of fifty with one Glader or Group B girl in charge of each. Brenda, Jorge, Minho, Thomas, Newt and I all know how to get to the Griever hole through the maze. You know, since we worked there and you were Runners. Teresa do you remember too?" Ariadne showed her the map that she had just taken out of her backpack and Teresa scanned it for a moment before nodding.

"Okay, you girls lead. Then we'll all help move people along in between the groups." Thomas nodded to himself, Newt, Minho and Gally.

"I actually think that we should have two in the front, leading and then another two in the middle and in the back just in case of any stragglers," Ariadne suggested and the group agreed.

"Sounds good to me." Minho shrugged, sounding completely bored out of his mind. Gally just nodded silently.

"Whatever you say hermanos." Jorge added.

They spent the next ten minutes dividing everyone into groups and long lines and formations. They tried to keep the groups even in terms of age and strength in case of an emergency. The others were pretty happy to cooperate once they realised the newcomers were here to help them escape. Once they were organised into groups Thomas and his friends lined up by the doors and waved their hands to get everybody's attention.

"Listen up!" Thomas began. "WICKED is planning on using you all for experiments. They believe that your bodies and your brains belong to them! They've been studying people for years. Collecting information to find a cure for the flare. Now they want to test you as well. But you deserve more than a life as a lab rat. You are the future of humankind. And the future will not happen the way WICKED wants it to. That's why we are here. To get you all out of this place. We're going to go through the maze to get to the Griever hole where a Flat-Trans portal will be waiting to take us to a better place. A place with no Scorch, or Flare, or WICKED trying to test you! So we are going to escape together. We need stronger people to protect the weaker and younger people-"

Thomas was cut off by a loud bang and the ceiling began crumbling. Panic spread among the crowd like wildfire. Ariadne's eyes widened from next to him and she shouted something at him. But Thomas couldn't hear her over the loud noise. She rolled her eyes and ran off towards the empty homestead. But almost no one noticed her leave as they were all cowering from the noise.

"What the shuck is that!?" Minho asked, covering his ears. Thomas just shrugged. Then the thought dawned on him.

"The last bombs." He whispered to himself. Minho frowned and gestured to his ears.

"It's the Right Arm! They're blowing up the building! We have to go. Now!" Thomas yelled to his friends and began issuing orders. Teresa and Brenda led the first group through the doors, followed by Jorge and Frypan with their group and so on down the chain. Thomas stood at the doors and ushered everyone through.

Come on! Everyone, go! Move! Let's go! Move, move, move it!" Thomas was shouting at the top of his lungs to be heard over the explosions.

"Thomas!" Someone was calling his name and he didn't need to turn around to know who it was. The accent gave it away. Newt. "Thomas! Ariadne? Where is she?!"

"Oh, shuck. She went to the homestead I think. I don't know why but she knew that the bombs were going off. I think she's got a plan, so don't do anything stupid." Thomas told his friend. But what did Newt do? He ran up to the homestead after her. Thomas groaned but stayed in his position. One of these days Newt would get himself killed trying to save everyone else.


	9. It All Came Crashing Down

Newt ran through the empty corridors of the homestead, checking in each room for Ariadne. Out of all the bloody times she had to get a bright idea, it had to be in the middle of an Armageddon! The homestead seemed eerie and old without the usual litter of boys sleeping everywhere. He heard a rustling noise from the place where the med-jacks used to work.

"Ariadne?" He whispered, his heart racing. Then she ran out from the doorway and he yelped in shock. She never gave him much time to recover as she grabbed his hand and dragged back out of the homestead.

"Come on! I just had to get some more pain reliever. Are you crazy! Why would you come back! The whole freaking place is falling down around us! You should have left me!" She screamed at him as they fled the glade. No one else was left.

"Ari, we've already been through this. I'm never going to leave you, or anyone else, behind. Okay? So shut up and run for your life!" Newt screamed at her as they both bolted hand in hand toward the Griever hole, dragging each other up when the other had fallen or tripped. Their feet pummelled the stone floor of the maze as they dodged the collapsing debris. Everything was crashing down around them. They reached the cliff and the pair sprinted to get a head start, flinging themselves off the edge.  
Cold darkness enveloped through Newt's body and consumed him as they made it through the other side of the Griever hole. Newt immediately bumped into someone from behind and he apologised. He searched around frantically for Ariadne. He hadn't felt her come in. Then someone crashed into him and they fell to the ground.

"Sorry. I'm just looking for someone. I'm sorry. Have you seen Newt anywhere?" A girl asked him. He chuckled as he realised who it was and she scrambled off of him in panic.

"I'm pretty sure I've seen him. Tall, winning smile, great hair, amazing eyes? Oh yeah, and a very charming British accent?" Newt teased. She groaned and Newt could practically see her rolling her eyes.

"I think you forgot to mention that he's incredibly irritating and full of himself." She muttered.

"Hey, can someone turn on the shucking lights!" Minho ordered. After a few moments, there was a slight buzz as the lights overhead flickered and lit up the room. There was a loud slam and the crowd erupted into noise. Newt craned his neck to see what was going on.

"Stay right here, it's safer. I'll be back." Newt whispered to Ariadne and pushed his way to the front of the room.


	10. Infected

Gasps erupted all around Thomas as he turned to see who'd entered. Janson had come through the door from the outside of the hallway. From the looks of his rotting flesh and manic eyes, Thomas immediately knew what had happened. He had gone to take the mutated disease up to WICKED's launchers. He must have dropped a vile or infected himself by accident. He looked just past the gone. Newt, Jorge, Brenda and Minho had organised a way for everyone to get through the Flat-Trans effectively. The chamber was fast emptying.

"I know what your mother did!" He yelled, pointing to Ariadne and Thomas. "She is a disgrace and a traitor to WICKED! I should have killed both of you when I had the chance! Your mother got what was coming to her, and so will you! I will personally carry out that punishment!" He charged forward but Teresa intercepted him with a long pipe she plucked from the floor. She brought it crashing down over his skull and he crumpled into a heap. The room was almost empty when Brenda went through, followed by Jorge, Gally and Minho. Thomas motioned for Teresa to go in next and she obeyed the silent command. The brunette boy made sure Newt was safe, keeping his eyes on Janson as he began to regain consciousness before he hurried through, his sister following close behind him. They emerged on the other side and the world was different.

Thomas thought it looked a lot like the Glade but with more forest surrounding the wide fields. There was a lake as well and a real blue sky with a real sun and real clouds. There were pastures with animals and farms with crops. There were actual cottages and houses that were huge and had lots of room. It was obvious that Chancellor Paige had been working on it for a long time. There were mostly older style buildings and farmhouses but there were also modern types of things. Like a proper hospital and kitchen with tables and chairs to have meals at. There was even a large campfire with a weird looking sound system. Minho had taken charge, as true to his tattoo. He was allocating people to jobs and making sure everything was running smoothly already.

Thomas was glad. He didn't want another ounce of responsibility to fall onto his shoulders ever again. Everyone was mesmerised by their new surroundings. They had found paradise. Newt, Gally, Jorge, Brenda, Teresa and Thomas stood on the hill frozen in wonder just in front of the entrance from the flat-trans, gazing intently at their new life. They were finally free from the disease, from WICKED, from the cranks and the Scorch and the fighting.

Ariadne's screams brought the group back to reality. They turned to find that she was struggling against an arm that was on their side of the portal up to its elbow. A rotting hand was clutching her forearm, trying desperately to pull her back through to the other side. The black veins and bloody, mottled skin alerted Thomas to the fact that it was Janson. A spike of panic rose through the group. This could jeopardise everything. If the new disease spread through the portal their safe haven was in danger. Everything they had lost and everything they had risked would be in vain.

Teresa acted on impulse and took a gun from Brenda. She shot at one of the tiny devices that were holding the portal open. The device was destroyed and the rip in space started to pull apart. Separating the new world from the old one. Janson was being pulled away, trying to tug Ariadne with him. He dug his dirty fingernails into her skin and scraped long, deep grooves out of her flesh. She screamed in agony and she felt the mutated Flare begin working at her brain immediately. The connection was cut off and so was Janson's hand. Ariadne flung what was left of the offending limb away from her in disgust and fell to the ground. She uttered a blood curdling shriek. An inhumane scream. An animal’s scream. A crank's scream.

"No," Newt whispered, his voice hollow.

"We failed, that's it, everything we've worked so hard to achieve will be broken down within a few days, weeks at the most." Jorge pointed out, he let out a frustrated sigh of defeat.

"There is one thing we can do about it. It's the only way." Gally said, a mournful tone in his voice. His hand shook as he raised his gun, aimed it at Ariadne's head and flicked off the safety switch. Newt charged forward and knocked the gun out of Gally's hand.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing!? Are you crazy? Ariadne helped save us all! She saved me!. She created this Flat-Trans and a plan to start over and now we're just going to kill her? No. I can't let you do that. I won't let you do that. Okay? If you want to kill her you'd better be prepared to kill me too." Newt shouted at Gally. Thomas completely agreed with him.

"Newt is right. There must be a way to save her." Brenda said. They all looked at the newest addition to their dysfunctional family of sorts. Ariadne was writhing on the ground, clutching her injured arm to her chest. The new disease was painfully eating away at her brain, her memories, her personality, her humanity. And she could feel it all happening within a few minutes.

"So what can we do about it? Huh? You tell me, Newt, since you're the expert on this now." Gally retorted. Newt ignored him and frowned as he racked his brains for a way to save Ariadne.

"This new mutated disease is basically the same effects of the flare but amplified, right? So technically the cure that she gave me could cure this as well. We just have to get a large dose, or alter the cure." Newt said hopefully. Trying to reassure and convince himself as much as the others.

Thomas looked at Teresa for an answer. She was the next smartest out of them all when it came to medicine. Plus she had her memories. "Teresa?"

"Hypothetically speaking, it could work. We just have to get it to her before she passes the Gone." She answered thoughtfully.

Ariadne arched her back as she screamed so loud that Thomas feared her vocal cords would rupture. She was beginning to lose herself to the sickness that was engulfing her brain. Newt picked her up bridal style and started toward the hospital building. The rest of the group followed in hot pursuit.

"Hang on, We'll get you help. I promise." Newt whispered into her ear.

Despite everything that was happening Teresa and Thomas couldn't help but exchange knowing glances in suspicion of the Brit. They immediately felt ashamed of themselves. The poor girl was having her humanity stripped from her. Ariadne's gut-wrenching screams echoed in their brains as they moved as fast as they could over the rolling hills.


	11. He Needed to Know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note, this is a trigger warning! Mentions of depression and self-harm are present in this chapter. If this is something you do not want to read, please skip this chapter. Anyone who wants to continue reading please do so, as I am about to spoil this chapter for those who would like to avoid the triggers. 
> 
> A brief overview of what happens is that Ariadne is admitted to the hospital. Thomas, Teresa and Newt wait to speak to the doctor. The doctor tells them that Ariadne is healed but will have side effects of falling into irregular fits where she is consumed by her memories. It may be permanent but no one really knows. The doctor also offers for the three to get their memories back, and tempted by his urge to know his past with Ariadne and why he feels the way he does about her, Newt decides to have this procedure done.

By the time they reached the hospital, Ariadne was fast approaching the Gone. Thomas had to clamp her legs together and Jorge had to do the same to her hands when she started swiping at them as she thrashed. The last thing they needed was for everyone else to get infected. They pushed open the doors and entered the white reception centre, moving straight to the front desk. Teresa explained their situation. Two women and one man in doctors' uniforms rushed from a set of double doors rolling a bed on wheels. They took her from Newts arms and strapped her down onto the hospital bed. She thrashed and yelled, arguing against the restraints. Thomas guessed the doctors were from WICKED as they were obviously professional. Nothing like the inexperienced and uneducated Med-Jacks back in the glade. Thomas caught sight of Clint fully decked out in doctors uniform treating injured people in the reception area. Newt was shouting after the doctors who had begun to take Ariadne down a corridor to another set of doors.

"You have to make sure that you get her a cure as fast as you can. And be careful with her. She's in a very fragile state. Remember that this is the mutated disease and it's far more potent!" He was instructing them.

The doctors disappeared behind the door with Ariadne and her screams were the only proof that the group hadn't vanished completely.

"And whatever you do, make sure she isn't hurt," Newt whispered. The woman at the front desk directed them to the waiting room. It was down the same corridor but the door on the left, opposite the one Ariadne had been taken through.

The group decided that half of them would go and help Minho and the other half would stay and wait. Newt volunteered to stay straight away. Thomas agreed to accompany his friend and Teresa wanted to remain behind as well. Gally, Jorge and Brenda left to find Minho.

Newt plonked himself down in one of the many chairs in the waiting room. Thomas sat down next to his best friend with Teresa on his other side. They were there for what felt like hours. The screams and shrieks that were coming from the room had ended about an hour and a half ago. Newt sat staring straight at the door and hadn't changed his position since he sat down. Thomas was next to him, his brain was whizzing and churning.

"Tommy? Is it normal to feel something niggling at your brain, but when you reach for it, it just flutters away?" Newt asked Thomas. His voice was cracking with distress.

"That depends on your opinion of the word normal. Technically nothing about our lives is normal. If you mean normal for us then, I suppose so. I get the same feeling when I come across something or someone significant I knew before my memory was wiped. Like with Teresa, I felt a...connection to her." Thomas informed his friend. Newt sighed.

"I knew Ariadne before the maze, and I knew her really well. I'm sure of it. Maybe that's why it felt like my world was crashing down when she got infected and why I feel the need to protect her. But if I know anything, it's that I knew that girl better than what she's letting on." Newt said definitely. “She’s hiding something from me.”

Then Newt paused and started fiddling with the gold chain around his neck. Thomas had only just noticed that he had never taken it off since they first met. It was just as connected to Newt as his hair and nose were.

"It's weird. It's like every time I think about her, or look at her, so many different emotions speed through me that I feel like I'm going to explode. I find myself reacting to her before my brain can even catch up. It’s as if my body knows her but my mind is disconnected." Newt continued. Thomas realised that was an exact definition of what he felt for Teresa.

The trio sat in silence. A few more painful minutes passed and a doctor in a white coat stepped out of the door leading to where Ariadne was taken. He stood still for a few moments and scribbled patiently on his clipboard. The tension in the room was so dense it could have been cut with a knife. He stopped writing and sighed as he looked up.

"She was just reaching the Gone when we injected her with the cure," he said, and Thomas's heart fell. He looked around the room, Teresa's face was bearing a grim expression, as if she expected it. Newt wore a mask of pain, he was distraught.

'But," the doctor said. Newt's head shot up and his face was plastered with the most hope that Thomas had ever seen. "She is cured and will soon be fully functional."

Newt looked from the doctor to Thomas and he broke out in the brightest smile Thomas had ever seen on his friends’ face.

"Are there any side effects?" Teresa asked. Thomas knew she wasn't stupid, so he figured that there must be a reason for her to expect that Ariadne wouldn't be fully cured.

"As you know, the serum was designed to cure the original flare. The patient's condition was that of a mutated disease, so naturally, there is a small side effect. The flare attacks the part of the brain we call the Killzone. This area is what makes up a person. Their personality, their feelings and emotions, their memories, their characteristics, their quirks. Basically, everything that makes us human. When the disease affects the area it removes all that information and replaces it with the only thing left in human nature. The animal instincts. Like self-preservation. This explains the behaviour of the cranks, people who are fully affected by the disease. We believe that the damage already done to her brain that we couldn't reverse with the cure may cause her to be immersed in her memories from time to time. We call them fits. This could happen a couple of times a month or it could happen one, two maybe even three times a day. It's hard to tell and it’s irregular. She will need a lot of support. I know she has a history of depression, self-harm and anxiety so that will need to be monitored, of course." The doctor spoke and Newt interrupted him.

"Wait, what? Depression and self-harming? She told me about the anxiety, but..When did the rest start? When did it stop?" He asked, the concern shining through his voice.

"I'm sure that Teresa here can fill you in. She helped her get through it all the first time." The doctor said.

"The first time?!" Newt frowned. 

"I'll tell you later, Newt. There are a few things you need to know about Aria and I'll explain it all." Teresa assured him.

"Another matter to discuss is that we can unblock your memories if you'd like. I know you’ve been offered this before, but if any of you have changed your minds since then..." The doctor offered. Thomas immediately shook his head. He had given a lot of thought to the concept of memories and identity and had come to the conclusion that memories of experiences are what mould a person into who they are. Thomas was afraid of the person he was before his memories had been wiped and decided that he liked the new Thomas better. Newt, on the other hand, froze.

"Would I get them all back?" The blonde felt guilty to even be considering it.

"Eventually, most of them would return." He said. "It would be more of a gradual thing. Like a memory would return if it's triggered by a feeling or an object or phrase."

"When can you get it done?' Newt asked in a low voice. Thomas wasn't surprised. He had to admit that he had been tempted once upon a time to ask if they could unlock his memories of Teresa. He had a sudden urge to remember how things were before he was put in the maze. He dismissed the thought. He still didn't entirely trust Teresa and bringing back their history, stirring painful memories, would just cloud his judgement.

"If you would like to come with me, we can do it now. It's not exactly a pleasant experience, I must admit. Gives you an awful headache." The doctor nodded.

Newt looked from the doctor to Teresa, and finally to Thomas. "You should do it, Newt." Thomas urged his friend. Newt nodded and patted Thomas on the shoulder. He stood up and took a deep breath. The blond followed the doctor out the waiting room and down the corridor. He wanted to remember his sister. He wanted to remember what caused the frenzy of emotions within him when he saw Ariadne. He needed to know about his past.


	12. His Memories

Newt drew in a sharp breath as he bolted upright. He was drenched in sweat and struggled to steady his deep, uneven breathing. That doctor was right, Newt thought, it wasn't a pleasant experience. But it had worked. They had come back to him like dreams, his memories. He knew he didn't have all of them, but when he focused really hard, he was able to put together some of the larger pieces of the puzzle that was his past. He remembered that he lived with his parents and Lizzie until WICKED had broken in, murdering his mother and father and taking him and Lizzie away. He remembered Ariadne, how he was the only one who would call her either by her full name or by Ari. Everyone else just called her Aria. He remembered how they first met. He was nine or so. He had been taken by WICKED for a few years and Chancellor Paige had been speaking to him whilst she was getting him ready for his regular tests. That was when he saw her. She may only have been eight but Ari was the most poised and collected eight-year-old he had ever met. He could almost hear the way her shoes had clicked against the marble floors.

_Newt sat patiently in the cold chair as the older blonde doctor turned to fill out some papers on the bench. That was when a young girl who seemed to be around his age walked in with her back straight and head held high. Newt watched as she wordlessly took his arm in her warm hands, tightening a strap around his bicep. He assumed she was looking for his veins, like the other doctors had done since he arrived at WICKED. He watched the brunette girl as she tapped from his wrist to his elbow. She was very pretty. Maybe they could talk together later? Maybe they could be friends. Newt hadn't had a friend who was a girl in a long time._

_"Hi," he said to her in a voice that came out a lot squeakier than he'd wanted it to._

_"Hey," She glanced up at him with her hazel eyes and smiled. He guessed that she had found a sufficient vein because she cleaned the area with an antiseptic wipe and moved through the curtains to the next patient._

_Newt strained his neck as he watched her go, wondering when he would see her again. Maybe he could ask her if she wanted to hang out._

Newt did see her again, but she was always busy running after other doctors, helping wherever she could. He hadn't spoken to her any further than their exchange of 'hello', but for some reason, he couldn't get her off his mind. After a few months of seeing her around the facility and at meals Newt almost gave up on talking to her. He had hoped to see her in his classes but weeks of school had passed since he’d met her and she wasn't anywhere to be seen. Then halfway through a school day, Ariadne knocked on the door.

_There was a soft knock that sent the students' heads turning to the back of the classroom. Minho took this as a chance to pass a scrunched up note back to Newt in the row behind him. Newt took the paper and opened it up to find a comical drawing of their teacher, barely able to contain his laughter. When he looked up at Minho to congratulate his skills he noticed his Korean friend's gaze was directed at the doorway._

_"Dude, look!" Minho whisper-shouted. Newt twisted in his seat to see the brunette girl stepping into the room. His eyes widened in recognition as she handed a sheet of paper to the only adult in the room._

_"My mother has requested for me to be given lessons with the other children," she said in a small voice as she fidgeted. She must have been nervous around all the kids starring her._

_"Very well, Miss Paige. You can take your seat over there, next to Newton." The old woman gestured and returned to the front of the room, resuming their lesson on problem-solving. The slim girl was quite tall for her age and walked with an air of confidence about her, refusing to let the starring bother her. She slipped into the chair beside him and he held his hand out for her to shake._

_"I'm Newt." he grinned. She glanced from his hand to his face and once she realised she had seen him before, she smiled. There was something warm and sweet about her smile and Newt decided he wanted to see more of it. She took his hand in hers and her arm tensed._

_"Your hands are freezing." she raised her eyebrows._

_"And yours are like heaters." he countered. "What's your name?"_

_"I'm Ariadne." the brunette tucked her fringe behind her ear._

_"That's a pretty name." Newt complimented._

_"Thanks," a smattering of pink rose to her cheeks. "I like your accent."_

They had become very close almost immediately and often got into quite a bit of trouble for talking or laughing in class. They were frequently told off for making fun of their teacher. If Newt had to name one thing that was even scarier than the Grievers he would say the cranks, but this teacher came a very close second. She used to clap her huge hands and look down her nose in a very 'well done, you,’ sort of way. But one good thing about her was that it was a point that he and Ariadne could bond over.

_"Hey, Ariadne!" Newt spotted the girl walking slowly through the cafeteria, looking unsure of where to sit. Most tables were full of chattering children. "Come and sit with us."_

_The brunette looked up to see the blonde boy waving her over and she beamed, making her way to their table. She watched as Minho wrestled another kid from their class, Alby, for an extra juice-box, letting out a giggle. The two boys stopped in their tracks and looked up at her in confusion before composing themselves "Who are you?" Alby questioned politely._

_"Hi, I'm Ariadne," she introduced herself and obliged when Newt motioned for her to sit down next to him._

_"That's a mouthful! Why not just call you something easier, like Aria?" Minho's words were almost unintelligible through the food he had stuffed into his mouth. Ariadne cringed at the sight._

_"Minho, don't be rude," Newt chastised his friend and turned to the girl beside him. "You can hang out with us from now on, if you want?"_

_"I'd like that," Ariadne nodded eagerly._

_"Did you see how angry Mrs Gibson got when she found Minho's drawing? It's like her face changed colour!" Newt nudged her with his elbow and she burst out in laughter. He felt certain happiness spread through him at the sound of her laugh and promised himself he would always get her to make that sound._

They had only been eight years old when their friendship had begun to grow. It took years to get her to open up to him and the rest of the group completely. She had been incredibly shy and very closed off. But once she came out of her shell, the years of trying were all worth it. She brought a goofy light-heartedness to the group and kept them all on their toes with her quick wit and humour. By the time they reached their teen years, it was easy to say they were best friends. When they were around twelve Ariadne had brought down all her walls with Newt. She completely opened up about her deepest and darkest fears and secrets and worries.

_"Ariadne?" Newt inched further into the bedroom, peering through the darkness to see the figure of his friend curled up on her bed as sobs wracked her body. "What's wrong?"_

_"I'm fine, Newt. Just go away, please." She hurriedly hid her face in her hands, obviously embarrassed he had caught her in such a vulnerable state._

_"It's okay. I'm your friend, Ari. You can tell me what's happened. You can trust me." He urged her and sat in a spare space on her bed next to where she lay._

_"Promise me that you won't tell the others anything about this," she replied softly after a long hesitation. "I promise. Your secrets are safe with me." Newt gently pulled her hands away from her face and gave her a reassuring smile._

_"You know how I never used to talk to anyone? I'd never had a friend until you invited me to sit with you at lunch. I was always alone. Always keeping secrets. I never trusted anyone. It's because I didn't trust myself. I didn't trust myself to be around anyone without getting too attached. It's a fault of mine, that I care too much about everything and everyone. I can't help it. But it's something that gets me hurt. Everyone I have ever loved has left me. My mum left me and separated my brother I until she forced him to work for WICKED when I was young. It was just me and my dad for a few months and everything was great. Until he needed to work for WICKED too, and he left me with his brother. My uncle took care of me for a few years before I came here. He was a good man, until one day everything started changing. He would scream at me and get really aggressive. Then he started to get violent and he would...he would do the most horrible things to scare me. I didn't know that he caught the Flare until I found him dead in the kitchen. Dad brought me here to learn and help mum. But mum never loved me as much as she loves my brother. She keeps us away from each other. She doesn't want me to be a bad influence on him. He's special, she tells me. He's important. She never says anything like that about me. She never has. My dad was always there for me. He loved me just as much as he loved my brother. But he's gone now too." she burst into tears and her chest heaved as she gasped for breath. "He's gone. They think he's dead. He left me alone too. There's no one left."_

_Newt slipped his hand over her own, ignoring the ache in his chest at seeing her in so much pain to find that for the first time since he'd known her, they were ice cold and shaking. Her hands were always a source of heat._

_"I'm so sorry, Ari." he whispered and moved her fringe out of her eyes. She looked up at him through a haze of tears. "You're not alone, though. You have me now. You have me. I'll always be here for you. I promise."_

He had snuck out after lights out that night and comforted her until the early hours of the morning. He listened as she told him all about everything she had been through. All about the things her Uncle had done to her. Then she listened as he told her all about his sister and how much he missed her. The entire ordeal had brought the two of them even closer together. By the time he turned thirteen they were inseparable.

_"Guess who?" her familiar voice whispered into his ear as warm hands covered his eyes from behind._

_"Is it Minho" he answered sarcastically._

_"I sure hope not." Ariadne laughed as she let him go and sat with her legs dangling over the edge of the roof next to his. "I got you something."_

_He shifted his gaze away from the view of the sun setting over the fields and found something even more beautiful to capture his attention in the bright smile of his best friend as she held a box out towards him. He took it from her almost instinctively, unable to tear his eyes away from her. The warmth that filled his chest at merely the sight of her was becoming more of an often occurrence these days._

_"Go on and open it!" she nodded at the box. He lifted the lid to find a simple golden chain inside. She cast her eyes to her feet in embarrassment. "It's not new. It was...my dad's, actually. Mum gave it to him when they were our age. I understand if you don't like it...or want it. I just thought...nothing. It was probably a stupid idea."_

_"No. No, it wasn't stupid. I know how much your father means to you and it would be an honour to wear something so important to you. I love it. I’ll never take it off." Newt grinned, reaching out his hand to lift her chin so her eyes met his._

_"Promise?" she asked, almost breathlessly as a bright hope glinted in the hazel gems hiding under her long lashes. He nodded, and as he scanned her face to take in her jubilant expression, his gaze lingered on her peach lips that were curved into a beautiful smile. The subtle longing to close the distance between them came so quickly that it almost scared him. What was he thinking? She was his best friend. Quickly turning away from her he looked back out at the world._

_"It's funny how something so wonderful is right outside the walls of this horrible place." he considered._

_"I think this is the closest I've been to something so beautiful." she agreed and followed his line of sight to the hues of burnt sienna, dusty pink and purple that painted the sky. Newt couldn't help but look back at her as the golden light made the green in her eyes sparkle and the gentle breeze played with her hair._

_"Same." he echoed the sentiment, although he admired something entirely different._

Newt finally understood the reason why he had always felt like he had to keep the necklace on. In the maze, the necklace had felt like a part of him, and it was only now that he knew why it was so important. The necklace had felt like a part of him because Ariadne was a part of him. When Newt found out he was going to be taken into the maze, Ariadne was the one person he wanted to see. He had needed to tell her something, the one secret he had hidden from her for so long. He had feared it would ruin their friendship, but he had nothing left to lose.

"Guess who?" came the voice he had come to live for, as her warm hands slipped over his eyes.

"If you say Minho, I will personally kick you off this roof."

"Alby?" he guessed with a smirk.

"Smart-ass," she grumbled and bumped into his arm as she took her spot next to him.

"You know you love me." he hooked an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side, revelling in the warmth she brought.

"Keep telling yourself that. Whatever helps you sleep at night, buddy." she shot back and tilted her head back to see his eyes tracing her every feature with an adoring look on his face. "Do I have something on my face?"

He knew he was starring, but if it was the last time he was going to see her, he didn't care. "No, it's not that. It's just...you're beautiful, you know that?"

Crimson rushed to her cheeks as she looked away, bashful. "Don't try and charm me, that's Minho's job."

"He better take good care of you when I'm gone." the words slipped from his lips before he could hold them back.

"Minho can't even take care of himself. So it's a good thing you're not going anywhere, right?" Her smile faltered when he didn't answer. "Right, Newt?"

"Ari... I don't know how to tell you this..." he pulled away from her, running his hands through his hair and over his face. "They're putting me in the maze."

"What? No...they can't be." his heart dropped into his stomach at the pain that seeped into her voice.

"We both knew this was coming, Ari. We just...didn't have the heart to talk about it." he let out a breath of air, wishing all the sorrow would go with it.

"I can't lose you, Newt. You're everything to me," she spoke softly.

"You know that you mean the world to me as well. But there's nothing we can do." his eyes flickered to where her hand rested on her thigh, close to his own. This time, he didn't beat back his impulse to hold it and he slipped his fingers between hers.

"We could run away." he felt her look at him, but it was too painful for him to look back. He snorted at the notion of escape. "I'm serious. We could take Minho, Thomas, Gally and Chuck and go. We'd head for the mountains. There are whispers of a rebellion group. We could do it. We're the best WICKED has."

"And leave Alby alone in the maze?" he shook his head. "They'd find us. We'd never be free and you know it."

"One day we will be, Newt." she insisted, but she didn't bring it up again.

"I want to give you something. Just so you don't forget about me." he pulled a necklace out of his pocket and she turned so he could place it around her neck. His cold fingers brushed her hair aside as he did up the clasp. “It’s because you’re the brightest light in my life, Ari.”

"I could never forget about you." Ariadne looked down at the golden sun charm hanging from a dainty chain.

"I will forget about you. When they implant the swipe. All my memories will be gone, but I don't want to forget you." his words escaped him in a low whisper and he felt a lone tear roll down his cheek. He had been trying to keep it together for her sake, but his facade was beginning to crumble. He was scared. He was only fifteen. Just as he opened his mouth to tell her the very thing he had been keeping from her for so long, the door to the roof burst open. They jumped apart in shock as Janson stormed over, dragging Newt up by his collar.

"No, don't take him! Please! Don't take him away from me! I can’t lose him...I can’t,” Ariadne begged and rushed towards them when another guard grabbed her from behind. "Newt!"

"Ari, I-" he began when a sharp pain shot through his neck and his vision became blurred. Sinking to his knees, the last thing he saw were the tears streaming down her face and she reached for him. The next thing he knew, he had woken up in the maze with no recollection of who he was and how he'd gotten there.


	13. The First Fit

Newt needed to clear his head. So many new thoughts and memories had flooded his brain, leaving an intense throbbing in his temples. He threw off the covers and sat on the end of the hospital bed, running his fingers through his messy hair. He needed to get out, maybe go for a run and get some fresh air. Then he decided against it. It would be a long time before he went running by choice after everything he'd been through. Maybe he'd just go for a walk and get back before anyone knew he was gone. He grabbed his jacket and slowly opened the door. Newt ducked his head out in the corridor and turned to the left, forgetting to check the right. He crept out and was about to close the door when a voice from behind made him jump.

"Newt? Is that you?" A girl asked him. He jumped three meters into the air and accidentally slammed the door closed in alarm.

"Do you want to wake the whole building up?!" Ariadne whispered.

"It's only you. Do you want to scare the buggin' daylight out of me?" He asked, still trying to calm his racing heart. A flood of intense emotions washed over him as he recalled the way things had ended between them before he had been taken. Now he understood her strange behaviour and professionalism mixed with warmth. She had been building her walls back up, trying to separate the version of him that she had remembered and the version that never knew her. He couldn’t even imagine what she had gone through after he was taken from her. Had Minho looked after her the way he had hoped? Had she been punished after Janson had found them on the roof? 

"Sorry, but you weren't exactly being stealthy. You scared me as well. Especially after...what happened." Ariadne shuddered.

"Are you feeling alright?" Newt asked apologetically, stifling his own raging emotions. He could see Ariadne's terrified face through the darkness.

"Yes. No. I don't know." She sighed. "It's all so confusing. It was terrible. I had these thoughts and feelings that weren't mine. It felt like pure anger and hatred and hunger took over me. I had some of my own thoughts and the Flare was trying to push it aside. It was like a war in my mind. You understand, don't you?"

Newt did understand. He had felt it all as well. It was torture beyond measure. He had hated the endless struggle. "It's the most terrible feeling in the world. Why are you out of your room? You're still not in a good state, what if something happens to you?"

"I think I can take care of myself. I've survived so far, haven't I?" Ariadne rolled her eyes at Newt.

"I don't know about that. Let me see." Newt joked and felt her wrist for a pulse. "You have absolutely no pulse that I can feel."Ariadne widened her eyes in mock horror.

"Oh no! What if I'm a vampire?!"

"I have to warn you that I don't taste very nice. I'm sure you'd much rather enjoy snacking on someone who has more meat on their bones, like Gally!" Newt shielded his body in good jest.

"I don't want my mouth going anywhere near Gally." She giggled. "So what are you doing here? I thought Minho had given strict bedtimes to everyone. Breaking curfew, like old times, are you?"

"It's a beautiful night. I think some fresh air would do us some good." Newt hesitated before he answered.

"Sure, I could do with a walk." Ariadne frowned at him brushing off her question. The two crept down the corridor with Ariadne taking the lead. Ducking around a corner, she checked if anyone was there.

"It's clear." She whispered and looked back over her shoulder to see that Newt wasn't behind her. "Newt? Where did you go? Newt?"

She slowly made her way down the corridor. The hospital was creepier in the night. 'Like a crazed asylum with the tortured souls of the dead,' her uncle’s voice floated into her head. The place suddenly seemed a lot colder. She shuddered and hugged herself.

"Newt?" Her voice shook as a shadow moved in her peripheral vision, causing her to snap her head in search of the offending object. There was a leaf stuck in one of the window sills and it fluttered in the wind. Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she spun around, expecting to find a doctor or something worse. She screamed at the sight of someone's face so close to hers. The person clamped their hand over her mouth and put their finger to their lips, motioning to the window three quarters up the near wall. The moonlight shone onto their face and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Newt! What the hell! You gave me a heart attack!" She whispered and thumped him on the shoulder.

"Bloody hell, you hit hard!" Newt replied and rubbed his shoulder. He made a show of screwing up his face in mock pain.

"I'm serious! This place is like a haunted asylum! It's horrifying!" Ariadne said, shaking. She quickly scanned the hallway, rubbing her hand up and down her forearms. Newt quickly wiped the grin off his face. He knew that she was traumatised into an intense fear of paranormal activity.

"Are you cold?" He asked, trying to change the subject. Ariadne shook her head.

"No, it's just so creepy here it gives me the shivers. I don't want to talk about it anymore. Why were you pointing at the window?" She asked.

"We're going to have to sneak out through it. We'll find another way back in before daylight. It might be a little tough to climb up..." Newt began and looked around for something to stack up. Ariadne pulled herself up and through the window swiftly. There was a slight thump as her boots landed on the grass outside.

"...So do you need a leg up." Newt finished when he turned around. He raised his eyebrows when he saw that Ariadne had already climbed through. He climbed up and reached the other side as well with a grin plastered to his face. As he made his way over to a log under a tree he tripped on raised roots and fell.

"Buggin' tree." He muttered. Ariadne laughed.

"It's hardly the tree’s fault that you face-planted." She told him. Newt rolled his eyes.

"It wasn't a face plant. It was falling with style." He said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well then, Mr 'falling with style', are you going to tell me what was so important that you had to come out here to tell me?" Ariadne smirked.

"Who said I wanted to tell you anything?" Newt asked casually, getting up and brushing the dirt off his jeans. He put his hands in his pockets and looked out at the lake.

"Oh, I just assumed that maybe you had...never mind." Ariadne sighed, clearly disappointed. Newt wanted to tell her so many things but he couldn't bring himself to say any of them.

"Where do you think we are?" He asked her, walking to the edge of the lake.

"I don't know, but anywhere has got to be better than back home." She said grimly and leaned over to have a look at her reflection in the water.

"This is our home now. We left everything else behind." Newt came close behind her and looked over her shoulder into the water as well. He couldn't help but think about how they looked together as a couple. "We would have died if we didn't leave it all."

"Yeah, we would have. But would it have been that bad if we'd died?" She seemed deep in thought. This comment sent a spike of panic through Newt.

"What do you mean?" He asked her warily. He remembered what the doctor had said about her...history, making a mental note to ask Teresa about it.

"Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad to be dead. Then no one could hurt us anymore." She said. Newt pulled her to face him.

"Don't you dare say that. Think of everyone who has died to get us here. Alby, Chuck, Winston, Ben, our families, your parents especially. Every single one of those people has sacrificed everything they had for us. We can't abuse that." Newt told her, despite knowing exactly how she felt. Since being cured he had wondered if maybe it would have been better for him to die. It would be easier to not remember the monster had become. She tugged her long sleeves over her hands and nodded.

"I know. You're right. I'm sorry. I don't mean to complain. Now I feel awful." She said guiltily, casting her eyes to the ground.

"Don't, it's okay. Just take time to remember the people we knew, and then remember the people we have left." Newt said. He watched her face and how her fringe fell over her eyes and how she bit her bottom lip when she was nervous or upset or holding something In. He noticed the little things that made the bigger picture. It was easy to slip back into their close relationship now that he remembered it. He could see that she didn’t have the mental energy to hide from him anymore. 

"I...I know. Newt, I think there's something wrong with me. Something is wrong with my brain. I feel like tearing my hair out and scratching my eyes and ripping my skin. I don't know what it is! It makes my heart hurt. Newt, I can't take much of it any more!" She wailed and broke out in sobs. The tears fell like rain as Ariadne fell to her knees, shaking.

"Ari, you have to listen to me. There's nothing wrong with you. It's just the after-effects of the disease. It was stronger than the flare, so naturally those feelings would stay a little longer. Ari? Ariadne, are you listening to me?" Newt panicked. It didn't seem like she could hear a single thing he was saying.

She was just uncontrollably crying and it was as if...as if he wasn't even there. The fits. She must be having a fit, Newt realised. Knowing there was nothing he could do he sat down next to her on the grass and pulled her closer to him. After minutes of crying Ariadne's eyes had glassed over and she had stopped sobbing. Tears were still streaming down her face but she was quiet. Newt tugged her to lay her head in his lap. He put his arms around her and she curled up to him. He caressed her hair as she wept, careful to not trigger anything. He took off his jacket and covered her with it. Ariadne started mumbling things that Newt couldn't understand until her chant got bolder and more fierce.

"No! No! You can’t! Please! There are ghosts here! Please, Uncle, please! No! Don't leave me here alone! Don't! Please! Somebody help me!" She shrieked. Newt knew what memory she was revisiting. It was the reason why she had been so scared alone in the corridor of the hospital. The old mill.


	14. The Old Mill

_The blowing wind whipped the girl's dark hair across her face. She pulled it back with her free hand and struggled to tug the other from her uncle's tight grasp. He just dragged her up the hill faster as she struggled. The lightning lit up the sky and thunder rumbled, growling as it forbade her from going near the abandoned mill. As they got closer the wind howled and moaned louder, as if crying mournfully at what her fate was to be. Rain pelted from the angry sky as it fought against her, trying to ward her off from the petrifying dilapidated building. The grey clouds rolled over one another as if they were each eager to see what would happen to her._

_The small child cried and fought against her cruel uncle's clutches once more as they neared the top of the hill. She begged with him to stop but he was oblivious to the girl’s pleas. Maybe he wasn't able to hear her over the battling weather, or perhaps the matter was that he simply didn't care. Whichever the reason was, he did not pay attention to her apart from pulling her toward the place that haunted her nightmares. They reached the wooden doors and he opened them, shoving her inside and locking them behind her._

_"No! No! You cant! Please! There are ghosts here! Please, Uncle, please! No! Don't leave me here alone! Don't! Please! Somebody help me!" She shrieked over the roaring storm and pounded against the doors._

_She slid to the damp, cold floor that reeked of sodden and mottled timber. Trembling and shaking, she slowly took in her surroundings. The half-broken doors rattled in their frames and the wind blew like an eery ghost's whistle through the cracks in the walls and floors. The stairs and floorboards creaked and every so often the inside of the mill was filled with a glow of white light accompanied by a crack of thunder. These sounds to the girl were not just the weather in combat._

_To her, the wind carried the screams of lost children, forced to roam the earth’s surface for all eternity. The thunder was the whip of the headless horseman who rode around the mill in the dead of night, collecting the lost souls in its prison. The old and dangerous wooden structure of the mill groaning and squeaking were the footsteps of ancient ghosts that haunted there. The lightning bolts were the light signals from their old friends, hoping to lead the tortured souls of loved ones back to their open arms._

_She shivered and hugged herself as she cried until she fell asleep to the sounds of the storm. The girl awoke early the next morning to the sound of someone thumping the door of the mill. Suddenly the doors burst open and light flooded the room._

"No!" She screamed and she fell through black space, taking in a sharp breath as she jolted up.

"Hey, hey, hey. It's okay. Ari, it's all okay. I'm here." A boy soothed. Somehow the voice calmed and made her feel safe. Like nothing could touch her. A jacket slipped off from around her shoulders as she turned to see his face.

"Newt!" She cried out and engulfed him in a tight hug. She didn't want to let go. They were sitting on the grass at the edge of the lake. It was still dark. "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" She gasped in relief as she realised she wasn't back there. She still remembered how she used to hide the bruises and cuts all over her body.

"Ari, you’re okay now. It was just a memory. Your safe." Newt patted her back as she hugged him as if her very life depended on it.

"Newt, it was awful!" She whispered.

"I know it was, but that was in the past. He can't hurt you now." He assured her. Ariadne frowned

"What?" She asked.

"What do you mean, what?" He frowned.

"You said he can't hurt me. He. How do you know that?" She shot him a suspicious look. She hadn’t told him the story of the old Mill. Only her Newt knew about that.

"Look, I did bring you out here to tell you something. I...the doctor gave me...I got back some of my...my memories." Newt said guiltily. He picked at the grass.

"You what!? Newt!" Ariadne shouted and hugged him again, overwhelmed with emotions. "That's great!"

"Didn't feel too great, to begin with, but I'm happy that I did it." Newt chuckled.

"Do you remember this?" Ariadne asked and pulled her necklace out from inside her shirt to show him. Her Newt wasn’t gone. He was right in front of her. She hadn’t lost him. He grinned at the golden sun pendant, that grin that drove her crazy.

"You’re my sunshine. How could I forget." He said.

"Well, you kinda did forget." Ariadne nodded through her distorted vision, wiping the tears of relief that flowed as she broke down the walls she had built. It was easy to open up to him again, knowing that he was still the same person she knew three years ago.

"Yes, well it's hardly my fault I got my memory wiped, now is it?" Newt raised his eyebrow, finding it hard to contain the swell of his own emotions. There was so much that he had been separated from accessing in his own mind. Having it back was like reliving them all again for the first time.

"No, I suppose not. I still remember that." Ariadne said and reached out to run her fingers over the gold chain around Newt's neck.

"I couldn't help but forget where I got it from, but I never took it off. Just like I promised." He whispered. Ariadne beamed at him. Then her smile dropped as she got up from the grass and folded her arms over her chest, peering down into the water.

"What's wrong?" Newt got up as well and stood next to her.

"Don’t get me wrong, I’m so happy to have you back. But I'm scared, Newt. I don't want to live my worst memories again for the rest of my life. It would drive me crazy. I couldn't handle it and it was only the first one." Ariadne sighed.

"I know that it's hard and you're scared. But you wouldn't be human if you weren't scared. I'm scared. I've lived almost every minute of the past three years scared. But you have to focus on the things about your life that make it worth living. Your friends." Newt advised.

"Thanks, Newt." Ariadne gave a weak smile and bumped into him on purpose. Newt laughed and shoved her back. Ariadne retaliated with an even bigger shove and Newt fell backwards into the lake.

"Bloody hell, it's freezing! Ari!" Newt choked as he resurfaced, but he still smiled.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! Although, I must say it was hilarious!" Ariadne laughed and held out her hand to help Newt back out. Instead, he pulled her in after him. She squealed and thrashed in the freezing cold water.

"Newt! Oh my gosh, it's so cold! You shank!" Ariadne shrieked.

"Oh! She's getting angry! You sound cute when you use Glader slang." Newt teased her and swam away from her. Ariadne bounded after him.

"Oh shut up! We're going to get pneumonia and die!" Ariadne giggled and caught Newt. She splashed water and his face. That just made him laugh harder. They splashed water at each other until they were in stitches from laughter. The sun started to peek up over the horizon line as they floated on their backs next to each other, watching the colours in the sky transform.

"We're going to be in so much trouble when we get back and we're dripping water all over the hospital floors." Ariadne pointed out.

"Who cares. I've had enough of listening to rules to last my whole life. Let's live a little." Newt sighed.

"Okay, but if we wind up dead I'm going to kill you." Ariadne shrugged.

"If we wind up dead you won't be doing much of anything." Newt chuckled.

"You know what I meant, you slint-head." Ariadne groaned as if she was sick of him already. In reality, she was so thankful to have this back. She had missed him like crazy when he had been taken from her. He had been everything to her - he still was.

"Do you even know what slint-head means?" Newt asked, finding himself slipping back into who he had been before the maze almost like a second nature. It was easy to pretend like no time had passed between them and he still felt the giddy butterflies of a fifteen-year-old falling in love.

"Yes." She scoffed. Then she paused. "No. What does it mean?"

Newt laughed. "I actually don't know. We just say it when someone does something stupid."

Ariadne glared at him but she broke out in a grin halfway which ruined the whole thing. So she rolled her eyes instead. He watched her as her dark tresses floated around her in a halo. The warm light of the sun rising on her olive skin, reflecting off the water, made it appear as though she was made of gold.

"You are so bloody beautiful." He whispered under his breath and Ariadne's jaw dropped.

"What did you say?!" She gasped, eyes wide open. Her heart was pounding in her chest and the butterflies in her stomach fluttered into a frenzy.

"Oh, huh? What? Hmm? Oh, I didn't say anything." Newt mumbled and scratched the back of his neck.

"Yes, you did!" She nodded. “You called me beautiful.”

"Bloody hell. Yeah, I did." Newt admitted.

"Oh my gosh. I can't believe you said that!" Ariadne giggled and splashed him.

"Why? I've said it before." Newt ran his fingers through his hair, blushing like crazy.

"Yeah, but it's been a long time since I've heard it. I missed you so much. Without you, it felt like there was a massive part of me missing. Knowing that you had no idea who I was just made it all worse. There were no comforting hopes about what it would be like when we saw each other again because I knew that I’d be a stranger to you." Ariadne whispered, her cheeks had been set ablaze. “Being a stranger to someone who once knew me better than I knew myself, to someone who was as much as part of me as my own soul...It hurt worse than anything I’d ever gone through. Being alone for so long and knowing I had no one left...It was worse torture than what Janson put me through when he…”

“What did he do to you?” Newt’s content and the jubilant mood were frozen over by a wave of chilly anger and heartache. He also felt slight guilt at what she had gone through because of him. He knew it wasn’t his fault, though.

“Don’t worry about that. I don’t really want to talk about it.” she shut him down and let out a long sigh. “I’m just glad that I have you back. I don’t know what I would have done if I had to be around you and see you, knowing that you didn’t remember anything about us.”

“I wish things could have been different, but neither of us had control over what happened. I’m really happy that I decided to get my memories back, but even when I didn’t have them I could feel how much you meant to me. I just didn’t know why or how.” He tried to explain the strange experience.

“I didn’t want to push you to get your memories back. I thought that maybe you wouldn’t want to remember your life before, like how Thomas didn’t. It was so hard trying to shut you out after I’d already opened up to you completely. You were the only person that I ever let in fully, even after you left. I became close with Teresa, but that was different.” Ariadne shrugged, feeling the cool water roll over her shoulders. “No one could replace you.”

“This whole thing really explains that feeling that I always had in the maze that something was missing. It was infuriating at the time. I always felt somewhat empty and nothing could fill that cavity inside of me. No matter how many friends I made and how much people were there for me, it was never enough. Now I realise that it was you all along that I was missing you. I mean Alby and Minho are great, don’t get me wrong, but you’ve always been my favourite person.”

“You’re my favourite person too, Newt.” she smiled fondly, knowing the connection for her ran far deeper than just friends. Newt was her person, her soulmate, her other half. Just as Ariadne was his. They were their own people, of course, but they made each other better. His personality and soul complemented her own. They compensated for each other's differences and shortcomings. They fit together like two puzzle pieces. Neither knew the feelings were reciprocated. Newt shook off the fuzzy feeling in his chest and started to swim away.

"I'll race you back to the edge." He yelled.

"Oh, I am so going to beat you!" Ariadne shouted and the water splashed as she raced after him.

"I don't think so!" Newt laughed, dancing just out of her reach.


	15. Real Smooth

As soon as the sun came up Teresa, Brenda, Minho, Gally and Thomas went straight to the hospital to see Newt and Ariadne. They got to the front desk and the lady told them what rooms their friends were in. When they finally found the rooms, both were empty. They decided to wait for ten minutes - in case the two were using the bathroom or something - before raising the alarm. Everyone was silent in their own worry as tension built up between the friends. Thomas looked up from where his hands were clasped in his lap, only for his eyes to meet the sapphire blue of Teresa's. He quickly looked away, finding Brenda watching him as well. He then stared back into his lap, avoiding both girls. Where had Newt and Aria gone? When ten minutes passed Minho got up to go and ask the front desk where they might be. Just then, soaking wet and shivering with smiles plastered onto their faces, Newt and Ariadne climbed in through the window. When they turned around and saw everyone huddled into Ariadne's hospital room they froze in their tracks.

"Hey, guys," Ariadne said awkwardly and gave a small wave.

"Hey, what are you all doing here?" Newt asked sheepishly.

"What were you two doing not here?" Minho asked.

"We just went for a walk." Ariadne shrugged.

"Then a rest," Newt added.

"Then a swim," Ariadne nodded.

"Then a climb through a window," Newt said.

"Now we're here." Ariadne smiled.

"And so are you." Newt finished.

"And we were worried!" Minho threw his hands up in the air.

"Look, we're sorry! But it was terrible here." Ariadne grumbled.

"How are you feeling?" Thomas asked, his concern for his sister apparent in his cautious tone.

"It wasn't a very pleasant experience, but it was worth it." Newt shrugged.

"Uh, Newt? I think Thomas was talking to Ariadne." Teresa smirked.

"But hey! You know, it's not like she was almost dead or anything like that." Brenda's words were dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh, right. Sorry, Ari." Newt blushed. Ariadne shot him a grin.

"It's fine, Newt. I feel normal, I suppose." She gave a small smile and glanced at Newt, tugging her sleeves lower over her hands. He noticed the foreign movement and something deep within his gut knew something was wrong. If Thomas noticed it too, he didn't say anything.

"So do you think we can go now? I hate places like this. It reminds me too much of WICKED." Brenda scowled as she scanned the immaculate room.

"I completely agree with you. Can we just leave?" Ariadne picked up her coat and shock gun from the table next to the bed.

"Yeah, we just go to the front desk and tell them to discharge you. If they don't listen well shoot 'em." Brenda shrugged.

"We can't shoot them! It's a hospital!" Teresa scolded Brenda.

"Well, we won't actually shoot them. We’ll just threaten to. Trust me, it works every time." Brenda waved her hand in dismissal and rolled her eyes.

"Maybe for uncivilised people," Teresa muttered. Brenda shot her a glare. Thomas thought someone should step in before the conversation got too heated. But he didn't want to be the one to get in between the two girls, so he cleared his throat and gave Minho a look.

"Hmm?" Minho frowned. Newt rolled his eyes.

"What are we waiting for, then? Let's go. I don't know about you, but I think there would be much better ways to spend our days." He drawled in his English accent that Ariadne loved so much. Thomas nodded to him in a silent thank you. Minho finally got it. He opened his mouth in a silent 'oh'.

"Hey, that rhymed! Better ways to spend our days. Now you can become a famous English poet and when you become rich you can give me 50 percent of the royalties." Minho grinned stupidly, proud that he had 'covertly' changed the subject. Newt looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. "Okay, you're right. That's selfish. Everyone else should get some profit too. You can give me 50 percent and divide the rest between you and the others. I know, how caring am I?"

Everyone rolled their eyes and filled out of the room. Gally purposely bumped into Minho's shoulder on the way. "Real smooth." He whispered.

"Shut up," Minho muttered. “Why are you even here?”


	16. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please be aware that this is a trigger warning! This chapter speaks in depth about suicide, self-harm, depression, possibly an eating disorder and torture. If any of these things are triggering for you, please skip this chapter. There is a brief overview below for any who would like to continue this story without reading this chapter. This is below, after the chapter.

They didn't have to point a gun at the receptionist as Brenda had suggested, but they did have to fill in some long and boring paperwork. Even Teresa almost admitted that threatening them with a gun would have been better. Almost, but not quite. She had this nagging feeling that something had happened between Thomas and Brenda and she didn't like it one bit. It was always meant to be her and Thomas. But no, not one thing could go right in her entire life. Brenda just had to come along and be cooler and feistier than herself. She hoped that, at the very least, Thomas could just hurry up and choose between her and Brenda. Drawing the process out would just be more painful for everyone involved.

After they left the hospital Minho took them for a quick tour around all the public areas. Everything was running smoothly. Each of them was in charge of something. Teresa was in charge of the politics behind their decisions. Brenda was in charge of security. Ariadne was in charge of planning. Frypan was in charge of the kitchens. Thomas was in charge of being a voice for the people. Newt was second in command and was in charge of overseeing everybody’s concerns or problems and as a judge, if necessary. Jorge was in charge of weapons and traps. Gally was in charge of building projects. Harriet and Sonya were in charge of the training centre and farms. Lawrence was in charge of the military unit, and Minho was the figurehead because he claimed his face would make the most attractive emblem.

Once the main tour was done, Minho took them to the cabins. They were sizable houses with ten bedrooms each. There were about thirty-five of them in a circle around a huge bonfire set up and sound system with logs to sit on around it. Harriet, Sonya, Aris, Lawrence, Frypan and a few others were put in cabin ten, right next to the cabin that belonged to Thomas, Gally, Newt, Minho, Jorge, Brenda, Teresa and Ariadne.

Their cabin was number eleven and it was the largest of all of them. Minho gave each of them a key and unlocked the front door. The group walked through the hallway and came to the open space that held the living room, kitchen, glass sliding door to the balcony, and dining room. None of the group apart from Minho had seen the inside of the cabins yet as the previous night everyone had just crowded into the open fields and slept wherever they dropped.

Everyone looked around at the huge place with such modern technology. Jaws dropped open, eyes widened, deep breaths were taken and no one moved for a few minutes. Until, like hurricanes, everyone bounded in a different direction, Minho stood laughing at everyone. Thomas and Gally fought over the television remote, Brenda opened the doors to the balcony and basked in the sunlight whilst Jorge went straight to the bathroom. Ariadne and Newt bounded up the stairs and Teresa went through all the bedrooms.

It had five bedrooms on either floor and two kitchens with two living rooms, a dining room and four bathrooms. It had a large balcony on each floor looking out over the lake. After examining every inch of the place, everyone chose a bedroom. It was decided that the remaining two bedrooms would remain vacant for now.

Teresa's bedroom was the one closest to the front of the cabin on the first floor. As she was looking through all the clothes and items that were already in the room someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." She called. A part of her hoped it was Thomas but it was a very optimistic part of her. She knew that Thomas wouldn't forgive her that easily and no one but Ariadne really trusted her yet.

"Hey, Teresa," Newt said as he entered the room and closed the door behind him.

"Newt," Teresa replied, barely even glancing up. She wondered what she had done wrong this time.

"Look, I still don't fully agree with what you did in the Scorch or in WICKED." Newt began. Teresa rolled her eyes. Here it comes, she thought. "But I do understand why you did it. It's what you thought was best. I get that now that I have Ariadne. You cared about Thomas, so you did what you thought was best for him, even if he hated you for it. I admire the strength it took to do what you thought was right for the greater good. I understand your point of view, and now I need to understand something else."

Teresa frowned. That wasn't what she was expecting to hear. She felt a pang of fondness for Newt. He actually took the time to try to understand her. "I'm glad that someone gets it. Maybe you should tell Thomas that." Teresa said, looking up at Newt, wondering where their conversation was heading.

"Teresa, don't beat yourself up about that. Thomas will come to his senses. He's just confused. You do know that he probably would have forgiven you by now if you hadn't kissed Aris." Newt said plainly.

"What?!" Teresa said sharply in confusion.

"Thomas is an understanding and forgiving person. He even forgave Gally for killing Chuck. He really liked you and then you tore his buggin’ heart out of his chest and repeatedly threw it against a brick wall, stomped on it and then left it there. Just drop the moody attitude, try to get along with Brenda and maybe he'll remember who you really are and forgive you." Newt said.

"Thanks, Newt. I'll...do my best. But I don't think you came to see me to give me advice about my Thomas dilemma. What are you after?" She asked.

"I need to know what happened. After I got taken into the bloody maze. Can you tell me?" Newt asked, casting his eyes to the tiled floor.

"Oh, you mean with Aria? You got it bad." Teresa grinned to herself, happy to see someone cared so much about her friend.

"Got what bad?" Newt frowned.

"You are so into her!" Teresa said with a grin.

"We're best friends. At least, we were before I got sent into that bloody maze." Newt rolled his eyes.

Teresa laughed, knowing he hadn't outright denied what she had suggested. She motioned for Newt to sit down on one of the bean bags in the corner of the room. He struggled to get comfortable in it, sinking into the fluffy material.

"What is this stuff? It feels like quicksand!" Newt scrunched up his face and tried to get out of the beanbag.

"Let me help you. I can't believe you've never sat in a beanbag chair before." Teresa shook her head as she gripped Newt’s arm and pulled him out of the beanbag.

"I'm glad I'm out of that. It felt like sitting on one of those buggin’ sandhills in the Scorch," he grumbled and sat on the desk chair instead.

"I used to have one in my room at home before my mother got the Flare and WICKED took me in," Teresa said sadly and sighed. "You and Aria were more than just best-friends, Newt. You were everything to each other, no matter how much your fear of rejection denies it. Everyone could see it. After you left, Aria went into a frenzy. She attacked Janson and so they dragged her off and locked her in her room. The only people allowed in there were her mother and I. They thought that maybe she could do with a female friend. Someone took meals to her when she needed them but most of them returned to the kitchens untouched. She stopped talking to anyone. Every time that I saw her she was in the same position, curled up under the bed covers, staring off into space and holding onto the necklace you gave her so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Every time I saw her she was getting skinnier and skinnier. After a few days, we had to force-feed her and even then she wasn't eating much and sometimes she'd even throw it all up.

"After a few weeks, I forced her up to go and have a bath. That's when I saw her wrists properly for the first time since you left. There were red scabs and scars. She'd been cutting herself with her desk scissors. I made sure everything sharp was taken out of the room. Months passed. Then WICKED needed her to design flying razor netting to stop people from being able to escape down the box hole. Janson came in to get her and she was so scared that they were going to get rid of her because she wasn't useful anymore. She was so scared that she had a massive panic attack. It was the first one that I witnessed. After a year or so of therapy and me keeping her busy, she started eating properly again. She started moving again, she started talking again. I remember the feeling the first time I heard her voice in a year, it was like a baby’s first words. WICKED wanted to keep her busy so she wouldn't fall back into her depression. She wasn't exactly back to herself so WICKED gave her small jobs. Like cataloguing the medicines, preparing tests and devices, but never anything too big or anything involving talking to subjects. She especially wasn't allowed in the control room. Everyone thought it was best not to talk about you or the maze in general. Once she was well enough people started talking about you again, at first it was by accident, but hearing about you seemed to make her better.

“So every night after work I used to visit her and tell her stories about all the jokes you had told and everything you did. She loved hearing stories about you so much that she decided she wanted to see you for herself. She told us that she was better and that she accepted that there was nothing she could do about you being in the maze. The problem was, we believed her. I should have known that she would see something that would make her snap. But I wanted to believe it more than anyone." Teresa paused, there were tears in her eyes.

"If you can't tell me anymore it's okay. You don't have to. You became her best friend when I was gone, I know better than anyone that it must have been hard on you." Newt was shocked by what he was hearing, having to keep his own tears contained. Hearing about what she had gone through weighed down on his heart like a tonne of bricks.

"No, you need to know what happened. I want to tell you" Teresa nodded. "I took her to the control room one day to help me with my duty. Everyone was so glad that she was getting back onto the field. But the day I took her to monitor the Glade and sections one and two on the North door was the day that you...it was when you were still a runner and you..." Teresa broke off and began crying.

"This is about a year and a half after I got put in the maze. That's around the time that I..." Newt's heart sunk as he realised what Ariadne must have seen.

"Yes, it was the day you climbed up the walls and jumped off. That was the first she saw of you in one and a half years. It broke her. But did you ever wonder how Alby found you?" Teresa asked.

"Yeah, Alby wasn't supposed to go into the maze unless it was an emergency and one of the runners tells him, but I was the only one in that sector and no one could have heard me screaming. Don't tell me Ari had something to do with it." Newt groaned.

"She implanted the idea in Alby's mind, she saved you. You would have been stranded there and then eaten by Grievers and no one would have said a word. They found out what she did, though. Janson and Chancellor Paige. Her mother was so disappointed and told Janson to punish her. So Janson went to her room in the dead of night and woke her up. He handcuffed her and took her to the simulator in the training centre. Then he simulated the maze and a series of scenarios. She only told me a few of them, she never could bring herself to tell me the worst ones. I didn't want to push her. He went too far. But there was one that really pushed her over the edge. He created the mindscape of the maze and she was lost until she found you climbing up the walls. She knew what you were going to do but she couldn't interfere. It was like a barrier, she was screaming and crying and yelling. Then you jumped. She had a massive panic attack and passed out. She was in hospital for months after that. She recovered but she hated her mother for giving Janson the go-ahead. That was what made me so angry at WICKED that I agreed to her and Thomas's plan of stealing the base information and giving it to Mary to escape to the right arm. I didn't want to do it at all. But Aria wanted to do it so badly. I did it for her since she couldn't. Then Thomas and I got put in the maze and she was left with no one." Teresa finished. She and Newt were both in tears.

"How could her own mother put her through that! I knew she wasn't in the running to win any mother-of-the-year awards, but still...Ari doesn't deserve any of that." Newt shook his head. “I wish I could have been there for her. I had no idea things got this bad.”

"I know, it's completely barbaric," Teresa whispered. "We have to make sure that she's going to be alright. You need to promise me no matter how much she pleads, that you’ll tell me if something is even close to going wrong. Okay?"

"Yeah, I promise. I better go and check up on her before dinner." Newt said and started towards the door. Then he looked back. "And Teresa? You should talk to Thomas."

"See you later, Newt." Teresa gave him a weak smile before he closed the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A summary of events is that Ariadne and Newt are released by the hospital and the group all go on a tour of the area and are told what their jobs will be. They then go to their cabin and are settling in when Newt visits Teresa in her bedroom. The two have a heart-to-heart conversation where Newt forgives Teresa for her betrayal and tells her he understands her motives whilst giving her advice on winning back Thomas. Teresa then explains what happened to Ariadne after Newt was taken into the maze. She reveals that Ariadne did fall into a deep depression and upon returning to her work a year later she witnessed how Newt got his limp, interfering to save him. This was against the rules and she was punished by Janson under the request of her mother, Ava Paige, with very emotionally scarring torture. The two plan to be a support system for Ariadne, should she need people to help her through a similar situation.


	17. Cat Fights

After she chose her room Ariadne decided to go out onto the upstairs balcony. She made sure to pull on a long-sleeved sweater and knew she was lucky that it was cold outside as it would give her an excuse for wearing winter clothes. She leaned onto the rail and watched as a black and white bird perched on the rail just next to her. She smiled and started humming a soft tune. The strange bird picked up the melody and whistled it back to her. Ariadne frowned. She hummed a more complex tune and the bird tilted its head and paused for a moment. Then it repeated her song back to her. She went to hum something else when the door frame behind her rattled. The bird was startled and flew away. Ariadne turned just as the glass sliding doors opened and Newt stepped out. She gave him a smile and returned to looking out over the balcony. Her eyes searched for the bird. She found it perched on a tree near them.

"Hey, mind if I join you," Newt asked and stood next to her and Ariadne gestured for him to carry on.

"It's beautiful here. Nothing like the Scorch. It's like a combination of the nice parts of WICKED and the Glade. I miss them. Alby, Chuck, Ben, Winston...all of them."

"What happened to him? Winston, I mean. I never found out." Ariadne asked softly.

"He got the flare. He shot himself before he could reach the Gone." Newt told her.

"So many people died for no reason. So many young people. I still remember seeing Chuck for the first time. He was the youngest and smallest of all of us, sitting there crying and I held his hand. He had snuck in a photograph of his parents, he would never let go of it. One night Janson took it off of him and he was a wreck for the whole night. I stayed up with him until he fell asleep. He asked me to sing for him, but I didn’t. I wish I had, now. I haven't sung since my father died." Ariadne said and played with her nails.

"Do you think you'll ever sing again?" Newt asked.

"I want to. Maybe I will. It's time to lay some old ghosts to rest and stop holding onto things that happened so far back in the past." She nodded.

"That sounds like a great sentiment. I might burst your eardrums but maybe I'll have a go too." Newt grinned.

"I'd like that." Ariadne smiled. They stood in silence for a while, listening to the sounds of the forest. Newt glanced down at Ariadne's hands. He slowly inched his hands closer to hers until they were almost touching. A gust of wind blew just as he went to reach out and hold her hand and she shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. She glanced at him.

"I don't know how you can be wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt in this weather." She shook her head.

"When you live in the buggin' Glade and you sleep outside every night you kinda get used to it." He laughed. "Unlike you pampered princesses in WICKED, we are used to harsh environments." Ariadne shot him a smile.

Another gust of wind blew and sent a series of shakes throughout Ariadne’s body. "Oh, for heaven’s sake, Ari. You're going to freeze. Come here." Newt said and pulled her close to him. He wrapped his arms around her and she shuddered again. Goosebumps rippled up her arms and her heart beat faster, but this time the weather wasn't at fault. A dozen pictures flashed across her mind and she felt dizzy. Her knees buckled and she Newt caught her as she fell. Numbness took over her body as her mind sank into a memory.

_She and Newt were in the training centre with Minho and Alby. Two older boys and a girl were teasing Chuck. They had him backed into a corner and he was crying. Ariadne had spied them from the other side of the room. She, Newt, Minho and Alby had walked over before anything bad could happen._

_"Is there a problem here?" Alby asked, crossing his arms and staring down the oldest of the boys. Ariadne recognised him and the other boy as Gally's friends. The taller boy with the blonde hair was Teddy and his shorter and beefier brown-haired friend was Charlie. The tall, slim girl with the blonde hair and blue eyes was Irene._

_"The only problem we have here is nosey people like yourself who shouldn't get involved." Charlie narrowed his eyes._

_"Well, look who we have here. It's Einstein and his minions; Lizard boy and Minnie Mouse." Teddy scowled. Ariadne stepped forward from the back of the group to support her friends. Newt nodded for Chuck to get out of there and the boy scurried away._

_"Actually, it's Alby, Newt and Minho. But I think I'll excuse that since you obviously have severe brain-damage." She nodded._

_"Oh, look what the cat dragged in! It's the stuck up princess who screams and cries like a three-year-old in her sleep! How's mummy? Still giving you extra points so you won't get cut from the final group." Irene screeched._

_"Listen here, sister. I would love to insult you but I'm afraid I wouldn't do as good of a job as nature did." Ariadne smirked and motioned towards Irene's face._

_"Ooh! Do you need some ice for that burn!" Minho snorted. "That's brave, coming from the girl who looks like she got run over by a monster truck!" Irene seethed._

_"Oh, really? That's great, I was trying to look like you today. I'm so glad that I pulled it off! Although I did have a bit of trouble getting the makeup right. Do you use a brush, or just dip your head in the bucket?" Ariadne bit back._

_"I don't think you fully appreciate the art of makeup. Look around, I think the boys like it." Irene smiled sweetly and blew a kiss to a boy passing._

_"Oh, please. Get over yourself. Everybody else has. The only thing you could turn on is the microwave." Ariadne smirked. By now a small crowd had gathered to watch the 'cat-fight', as some of the boys had advertised. There was a collective cheer from the audience._

_"And you would know all about being unattractive, wouldn't you?" Irene glared._

_"I hope your kisses don't taste as bad as your attitude. Maybe that would explain why guys are running away left right and centre." Ariadne raised her eyebrows, earning a collective gasp from their fellow trainees. Irene ran out of comebacks so she just rolled her eyes._

_"Yeah, just keep rolling your eyes. Maybe you'll find a brain back there!" Ariadne yelled at Irene. The blonde girl shot her a nasty look and sashayed away through the crowd who pointed and laughed at her. Charlie and Teddy looked Ariadne up and down and smirked._

_"Yo, what's your name, sugar?" Charlie nodded to her._

_"It's Ariadne, and don't call me sugar." She replied with a death stare._

_"Ariadne. I like it. Very macho." Teddy said, raising his eyebrows._

_"It's Greek, not Mexican, you dopes." She rolled her eyes._

_"You know, you are a feisty girl. Me likey." Charlie smiled at her._

_"Okay, you can shut that down right now. That is, unless you want to have to deal with me all up in your face." she gagged._

_"Be my guest, sugar. I could name a lot of you that I'd want all up in my face." Charlie leered suggestively._

_"She told you not to call her that." Newt stepped forward. A thunderous look on his face._

_"Oh, lizard boy's gonna get involved now! Whatchu gonna do, drool on me?" Charlie stepped forward. Newt took two steps in the same direction. They were almost nose to nose._

_"You bother my girl again and I'll do much more than that, you can be sure of it." Newt snarled._

_"Oh, is she your girl now, aye? Do her mother know that? Huh, lizard boy? Why don't chu come with me, sugar, I'll show you how real men play." Charlie said, half to Newt and half to Ariadne. Ariadne stepped forward and landed a punch right in between Charlie's eyes. He went out like a light._

_"I warned you not to call me sugar. And my mother doesn't need to know everything I do." She said as she pulled Newt close to her and reached up to peck his cheek in appreciation. The crowd went wild. He wrapped his arms around her and grinned._

She gasped as she shot up and took in her surroundings. She was lying on the couch on the top floor balcony in their cabin. Newt was kneeling next to her and holding her hand.

"Ari? Are you okay? You just blacked out." He said, concern shining through his voice.

"I'm fine. It was just another flashback." Ariadne groaned and sat up. "Which one was it this time?" He asked her.

"Cat-fight in training. Irene, Charlie and Teddy. It was so random." Ariadne lied. She knew why the flashback came when it did. It was a memory of the first time that Newt held her like he had before her flashback was triggered. Maybe not all of her fits would be bad.

"You had some pretty neat comebacks that day." Newt laughed.

"Yeah, I had them written down for a while and wanted to use them on someone. That's so lame, though." Ariadne chuckled.

"The problems of a thirteen-year-old. Catty comebacks."

"How old are we now, anyway? I've kind of lost track of birthdays. Are we...16?" Newt frowned.

"Okay, I remember these really well. You are 18 and so are Minho and Teresa. Thomas and I are turning 17 and Jorge is 32. Brenda just turned 17 and Gally is 18." Ariadne clarified.

"Wow. You're over a year younger than me and you're already way more responsible." Newt frowned and checked a clock on the wall. "Shuck it. We're late, we gotta go."

"Wait, Newt. go where?" Ariadne called after him as he got up and slid open the glass door.

"To dinner at the REC centre or whatever it's called," Newt answered.

"Oh, that. It's a recreational centre. I think we've also got a Karaoke night. I should know, I planned it."

"What's carry-okay?" Newt scrunched up his face.

"It's called Ka-re-o-ke, and it's fun. Trust me. You'll love it." Ariadne laughed.


	18. Chapter 18

When Newt and Ariadne finally got to dinner everyone else had been served and were already eating. They found their friends sitting at a long table at the back corner of the giant hall.

"What took you shanks so long?" Gally asked suggestively, his mouth full of bread.

"Sorry, we got held up and lost track of time." Newt apologised, ignoring the comment, and shot a knowing glance at Teresa.

It appeared that she had taken Newt's advice as she was in an animated conversation with Thomas, Brenda and Minho. Newt rolled his t-shirt sleeves higher up his biceps. The room was filled with people and it was getting very warm despite the open windows and doors. They were lucky that their cabin had an air conditioning system. Newt glanced across the table at Ariadne who was still wearing a long-sleeved sweater and he wondered how she could still be cold. He brushed the strange feeling aside and started on his meal. It was delicious. Cooked potatoes with lamb and peas in an orange salsa with the side of toasted bread with melted butter and goat's cheese. It was the best food he had tasted since the huge feast when WICKED had supposedly 'rescued' them and taken them to commence the Scorch Trials.

After dinner, they were served dessert. Actual dessert. It was a fruit platter with sweet, red strawberries, fresh bananas, apples and pears with banana bread and marshmallows. Minho had grabbed a handful of the stuff and shovelled it all into his mouth. Then there were three pots with three kinds of melted chocolate to dip things in. It was heavenly. Once everyone had stuffed themselves to their maximum capacity, the hundreds of teenagers filed out to sit on the logs around the campfire. Ariadne disappeared saying something about that Karaoke thing. 

“You are a hazard to society.” Newt laughed at Minho and Thomas, who were trying to stuff as many marshmallows as they could in their mouth at once.

“And a bunch of cowards. Do more.” Gally snorted. The group paused their activity, flinching when a loud, high-pitched whine broke out across the speakers. Everyone covered their ears with their hands and groaned.

"Sorry! Sorry, everyone. I know, I hate that noise too." Ariadne's voice wrung out high and clear from the metal speakers scattered around the place. The glass bi-fold doors that made up the entire right wall of the hall had been opened to look out over the bonfire area where flames danced high into the sky. The short figure of a girl could be seen standing on top of a high stage in front of everyone between the fire and the REC centre.

"Is that Ari?" Newt frowned.

"Sure is, Hermano." Jorge laughed and patted Newt on the shoulder.

She told everyone that she would be playing a series of songs and if anyone had any they wanted to sing they just had to come to a log near the stage and write their name with the song in the next available box. That box would tell them which number they were and the numbers would be displayed on a screen running across the bottom of the stage. There were tables brought out with drinks and snacks. She made sure everyone knew they were free to dance before she turned to the tablet connected to the sound system and music blared from the sound system. On her way back down from the stage, she tripped over her own feet and almost face-planted down the stairs. Newt leaned back next to Thomas, a huge grin on his face. 

"She's...something else." He sighed and Thomas raised his eyebrows.

"Dude, are you sure you don't need any medicine?" Minho grinned.

"Why?" Newt frowned.

"Cause you got the love bug. Oooooh! Burn!" Minho laughed.

"Lame. So, so lame." Thomas shook his head and the group made their way over to the bonfire, finding a vacant log. Teenagers had gotten up all around them and were dancing and cheering along to the music. It seemed as though it was inevitable for a civilisation almost entirely made up of teenagers to get wild every now and then. The boys spotted Brenda dancing in the crowd with Teresa. Thomas smiled at this, glad that the girls were no longer biting each others' heads off. 

"I wish someone would choose a slow song. I wouldn't mind a dance that I can actually do without stepping on everyone's toes." Ariadne shouted over all the noise and she stepped over the log from behind him and took up a spot on the grass. Almost as soon as she had gotten comfortable, leaning against Newt's legs, the fast-paced music transitioned into a slower tune.

Newt smirked down at her and offered her his hand. "Would the lovely lady like to accompany me on the dance floor?"

The raven-haired girl rolled her eyes, but smiled all the same, as she took his hand and let him lead her through the crowd of teenagers to an empty space. Deciding to play it safe, he rested both hands on her waist and maintained a safe distance between their bodies. The last thing he wanted to do was make her uncomfortable and ruin the friendship they were falling so comfortably back into, despite having been apart for over three years. Ariadne slid her own hands up to his shoulders and avoided making eye contact. Making their own routine of small shuffling steps and sways, they slowly got closer to each other. Ariadne managed to hook her arms around Newt's neck as his own inched closer together on the small of her back. It was almost as if the world had faded out around them as they were entirely enraptured in each other. The way Newt's thumbs caressed Ariadne's back over the fabric of her jumper thrilled her. Newt was content in the fact that he was managing to make her blush. When they finally took the time to pay attention to the tune they were dancing to, they realised how fitting the lyrics of the song were to their situation.

. _..Did you see the flares in the sky? Were you blinded by the light? Did you feel the smoke in your eyes? Did you, did you? Did you see the sparks filled with hope? You are not alone 'cause someone's out there, sending out flares... _

"Alright! That's enough of that melancholy klunk! Let's put on some real music!" Gally yelled over the silent crowd and took it upon himself to put a song on.

A loud trumpet filled song with lots of bass and drums blurted from the speakers. It was 'Freaks' by Timmy Trumpet and Savage. Of course, Gally would be into this kind of music. The boy with the demented eyebrows began yelling the words into the microphone and break-dancing around the stage. Sonya and Harriet sang along and danced, pointing up at Gally's performance. Everyone else cheered and started jumping up and down. All except for Newt and Ariadne who were still slow dancing in the fast-moving environment. Newt couldn't stop himself as he leaned down and rested his forehead against Ariadne's. She closed her eyes and sighed, finally feeling at peace.

"Hey! You two! Loosen up, have some fun! Make some good times, ya get me bruh! Just chill." Minho interrupted their moment by slurring in a slow yet lively way. It was a very contradicting combination. He had his arms draped over two girls. One had black hair and green eyes and the other looked like a living barbie doll. Thomas appeared in the crowd behind Minho. He looked out of breath, as if he'd been chasing him around for a while.

"He had some of the drinks at the table. I think it was one of Gally's recipes. He's gone nuts. I need to keep an eye on him." Thomas huffed and removed Minho’s arms from around the two girls. The dark-haired one rolled her eyes and stalked away but the blonde one stayed and smirked at Ariadne.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here. Never thought I'd see you again, but here we are. And look who was right. I've got the boys draped all over me and you've got...who is that? Oh, it's Lizard boy! Still playing with the same toy as four years ago, huh?" The blonde barbie folded her arms and inspected Ariadne as if she was something particularly nasty she'd stepped in.

Ariadne and Newt both frowned. They'd heard that tone before on..."Irene!?" They both exclaimed.

"Oh, what a surprise, you have eyes! I couldn't tell if you were blind or not, I just couldn't bring myself to take a good look at you. You're so ugly, I would have been the one who was blind." Irene snorted.

"It's too bad you would have been blind and not mute. Here's an idea! Instead of using that awful lipstick, maybe you should use a glue-stick. There's a better chance you'll need to shut up than kiss. Everyone knows bitter attitude doesn't taste very nice." Ariadne bit back.

"Oh my gosh! How could you say that to me, Ariadne? I thought you were meant to be nice. That was really hurtful." Irene batted her long eyelashes.

"Oh, please! Don't give me that trash. You're faker than Kim Kardashian's bloated behind. But I must say, what comes out of that and your mouth is pretty similar." Ariadne snapped.

"And tell me, where did that butt get Kim Kardashian? It landed her a famous rich man, lots of cash, a modelling career and fame."

"A pretty face is nothing if you have an ugly heart. And even if your good looks could get you somewhere I think that 99% of your beauty could be wiped off with a Kleenex. Have you ever tried eating make-up so it can make your insides pretty?"

"At least I  _ have _ good looks. You're uglier than a grandmother’s geriatric bulldog. Maybe you should learn how to use makeup and you'd be half-way to being pretty."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were an expert on my life and how to live it. Please, continue whilst I take notes." Ariadne said sarcastically and pretended to take out a notebook and pen.

"Great! Tip number one, don't slow dance in the middle of a fast-paced song. You are so weird!" Irene rolled her eyes.

"Thank you. Weird is interesting. Normal is so boring. I would know, I've met you." Ariadne quipped.

"Ha, ha, ha. You're so funny. You know, it isn't my fault you're so weak. You can't even handle having the Flare. So many other people can deal with it, but you collapse all over the place." This set Ariadne and Newt off. He charged forward and Thomas had to hold him back.

"You have no idea what we've been through! You have no right to say that. Who do you think you are? I have permanent side effects from going through that!" Ariadne's face flushed a deep shade of red.

"Oh, boohoo. No one would have cared if we'd left you behind. Apart from lizard boy because he can't afford better than the rag you are."

"Just shuck off, you slint-headed, shuck faced piece of klunk. Leave her alone!" Newt roared.

"Nice talk, but I have people to see." Irene rolled her eyes and shot a sweet smile at Minho.

"I loathe you," Minho said happily with a smile on his face. Irene frowned before waltzing off through the crowd.

"Argh! I hate her!" Ariadne whined.

"Shots fired!" Minho slurred sleepily.

"Preach!" Newt said angrily.

"I loathe her!" Minho repeated happily with the same smile.

"You are so drunk," Ariadne muttered and walked off through the raging party. Newt tried to go after her but Minho collapsed and he needed to help Thomas get their friend back to his feet. When Newt turned back around Ariadne was nowhere to be seen.


	19. The Adventures of the Ivy Trio

Now that she was alone, Ariadne glimpsed Irene coming back for more through the crowd so she pushed her way through, going in the opposite direction. She bumped into Newt and her anger bubbled over until she started yelling.

"Irene is coming back and I am so sick of her crap! I'm done with all of it!" Ariadne yelled, tears spiking at the corners of her eyes. Then Newt did something completely unexpected. He leaned down and enveloped her in a tight hug.

"I think you need that. Take a deep breath and calm down." Newt whispered into her ear.

"Thanks, Newt. I'm just so tired and cranky and now Irene is back. I liked her better when she was stuck in the maze." Ariadne sighed. Minho lumbered past them and Thomas was running breathlessly after him. Ariadne giggled. People had started following them around taking videos with cameras and phones that everyone had been given.

Minho doubled back, brushed past Thomas and had apparently stolen a microphone. Thomas came back just as Minho turned back in the direction Thomas had just come from. Her brother groaned and continued running after him.

"Ole! Ole, ole, ole! Hakuna Matata! It's a wonderful phrase! It's our problem fee! I have no philosophies! The moon is a potato! Galileo! Galileo Figaro! Figaro! Figaro, Figaro, Figaro, Figaro!" Minho sang happily into the microphone and hopped around on one leg. Thomas struggled to get the microphone but failed. Then their Korean friend started reciting Shakespeare.

"To bait fish withal; if it will feed nothing else. It shall feed my revenge. He disgraced me and hindered me half a million. Laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, thwarted my bargains, scorned my nation, cooled my friends and heated mine enemies. And what's his reason! I am a jew! Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, passions? Fed with the same food. Hurt with the same weapons. Subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means and warmed and cooled by the same summer and winter a Christian is?" Minho yelled passionately and took a pair of glasses off of a boy's head and put them on himself. "If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you poison us, do we not die and if you vomit on us, shall we not vomit back!?" Minho screamed and vomited on Thomas's shoes. His paparazzi cheered whilst Thomas cursed and snatched the microphone from him.

“Okay, nothing to see here. Sorry about that everyone.” He shoved the microphone into the hands of one of the girls standing near them. Minho promptly took the microphone back and started crying into it.

"I'm so sorry! Sorry! Is it too late now to say sorry! Cause I'm missing more than just your body. And I know, I know that I let you down, but is it too late to say I'm sorry now! I...wanna swing from the chandelier! From the chandelier! I came in like a wrecking ball!" He sang in a whiny voice and then fell off the rock, face planting into the crowd. The people in front of him parted and took three steps back instead of the usual stage-dive protocol. Thomas took the broken glasses from the ground and gave them back to the guy who had owned them. 

“I am so sorry for this shuck-face. You should check if they have an extra pair in the medical centre.” Thomas apologised for his friend's behaviour. 

"It's definitely a night to remember." Ariadne laughed, that turned into a yawn halfway. "I think I'm gonna head off to bed. I'm so tired, I haven't slept properly in a while and it's finally caught up to me. Goodnight, Newt."

"Goodnight, Ari. I'd offer to walk you to the cabin but if I don't help Thomas with Minho I'm afraid he might hurt himself." Newt grinned.

"Which one?" Ariadne asked sleepily.

"Both of them." Newt said and they both laughed. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you," Ariadne waved and made her way to the cabin.

Newt took a deep breath as he made his way over to help Thomas with Minho. Minho was dancing on the drinks table and screaming out the song 'We are the Champions' whilst kicking the cups and drinks off the table and onto the people in the crowd.

"Oi Gally! I challenge you to a dance battle!!!" he suddenly cried out to the boy with the strange eyebrows who was chugging an enormous mug of golden liquid. Judging by his wonky walk as he approached Minho, it wasn't his first drink either. 

"You're on, Minho!" Gally smashed his glass against a log and began pushing people out of the way to clear a dance circle. "Choose your weapon!"

"Be careful of the glass!" Newt called out to everyone, stressing over all the possible injuries.

"Alexa! Play ‘Just Dance’ by Lady Gaga!" Minho jumped off the table and landed in front of Gally. Newt held in a snort at this song choice.

"Not exactly the 'weapon' I would have thought he'd choose...but okay." Thomas frowned.

Minho jumped into action first, straightening his back and bending over slightly to shake his hips. "I'm t-working it!" he laughed at his own pun before moving into headbanging and an aggressive air-guitar solo. Gally stood back, shaking his head at the display.

"No? you don't like that. Alright then, I'm gonna bring out the big guns and drop it like it's hot!" Minho wasn't fazed and instead transitioned into a slut-drop, dragging his hand seductively up his leg when he got up. He then began strutting around in a strangely familiar fashion.

"Is that...the 'single ladies' choreography?" Newt burst out into laughter.

"Why does he have that memorised?" Thomas clutched his stomach, in stitches.

"Okay, clear the floor, Beyonce." Gally shooed Minho away and began to breakdance, dropping to the floor in a series of complicated spins and flips that had the gathered teens cheering.

"I think it's safe to say who won, eh Tommy?" The blond boy grinned, thankful for his friends.


	20. Getting Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please be aware that this is a trigger warning! This chapter contains detailed descriptions of self-harm and depression. If you are triggered by these things, please skip. A brief overview of the chapter for those who do not want to read it due to the trigger warning is as follows. 
> 
> Newt and Thomas return a drunk Minho to their cabin. Newt sees that Ariadne is not in a good place with her mental and emotional health. He falls asleep in her room, only to be awoken by Teresa knocking on the door, worried that he had gone missing because she couldn't find Newt. Ariadne wakes up and Newt talks to her about what she is going through. The two go downstairs to meet up with the others.

It was just past midnight when Newt and Thomas finally managed to get Minho inside the cabin. He had actually run away from them at one point and they found him twenty minutes later sitting on a log next to the bonfire, sweet-talking it.

"Hey, hottie. You're looking smoking tonight. You're so funny it melts me." he had been laughing and HITTING ON THE BONFIRE! Thankfully, after that, he had finally passed out. Minho's room was upstairs and they couldn’t be bothered to carry him up there so they dumped him onto the couch.

Thomas mumbled something about going to the bathroom to clean the vomit off of himself and Newt climbed up the stairs. He went to open the door to his room when he heard someone crying. He froze, knowing it was Ariadne. After a short time of standing there, the crying and pleading stopped and there was silence. Newt went into his room, kicked off his shoes and got changed into trousers and a loose t-shirt. Then he crept back out of his room and decided to check up on Ariadne. Her room was just across the hall from his. 

He silently opened the door and closed it behind him. Ariadne was curled up on her side under layers of bedsheets with her back facing him. She was fast asleep. As he inched closer toward her, Newt stepped on something cold. He looked to the floor and saw a pair of scissors. His blood froze and his heart stopped. Teresa's words echoed through his numb mind. _She had been cutting herself with her desk scissors_.

He picked up the scissors from the floor and put them on her bedside table with a sad huff. Then Newt climbed onto the bed and lay down next to Ariadne, over the quilt cover to respect her space. He leaned his arm over her to hold her wrist up so he could see better. He slowly edged up the hem of her sleeve. Surely enough, he found what he was looking for. There were two shallow fresh cuts across her scarred wrist.

Newt put her arm back down where it was and he gazed at her. Her face seemed so peaceful and beautiful. It masked the mess that she was probably feeling inside. Newt pushed away the urge to wrap his arms around her and pulled her close to him. Instead, he sat on the floor with his back against her bed and closed his eyes as his brain whirred and his stomach churned at the thought of what Ariadne was going through. How could he not have realised sooner? Teresa had been counting on him and who knew how long she had been doing this for. It was obvious now that he thought about it. He hadn't seen her wear short sleeves since they got there and she was always tugging her sleeves lower over her hands. He had to talk to her about this and make sure she knew he was there for her. But waking her up wasn’t the best idea, so he decided to stick it out until morning. It wasn't long before he was drifting off into the land of dreams.

***

Newt awoke to the sound of fists pounding against the door. His first instinct was to ignore it and go back to sleep. Then his Glader instincts kicked in and he went to answer the door before it flew off the hinges, glancing at the bedside clock as he went. It was four o'clock in the morning. He grabbed the handle and opened the door a crack before sighing and opening it completely, cursing his stiff back.

"What is it, Teresa?" He grumbled. Teresa flung her arms around him and gasped.

"Oh my gosh! We've been looking for you everywhere! We thought something bad had happened to you! Thomas went to ask if you had Minho's gun because Minho woke Thomas up and was whining about losing it. They found it underneath the couch...but anyway! Thomas went to ask you if you'd seen it and you weren't there! He checked everywhere before he came and woke me up. I checked everywhere. We both went all around every inch of the field looking for you and we couldn't find you. We came back here and woke Brenda, Gally and Jorge up and we've been looking everywhere for you since! No one thought to check here and none of us wanted to worry Ariadne. Didn't you hear us calling your phone?" Teresa spewed a hurricane of frantic words.

"Take a breath, Teresa. I was asleep, and no, I had my phone on silent...because I was _asleep_." Newt complained.

"Why were you asleep in here? Is something wrong?" Teresa frowned and looked past Newt at Ariadne, who had somehow managed to stay asleep.

"Yeah. I came in last night to check on her 'cause I heard her crying in her bloody sleep. So I came in and when I was walking I stepped on a pair of scissors on the floor. I should have seen it before. She's been wearing long sleeves since before we got here and she's been so paranoid about tugging her sleeves down over her hands. So I checked her wrist and she's been doing it, Teresa. She's been hurting herself again. I counted two but we need to stop it before it gets worse. I'm sorry, I should have noticed." Newt apologized.

"Don't be sorry, Newt. You did great. It took me weeks to realize and you only took a day. We just have to make sure we help her. But you didn't answer my question. Why were you sleeping in here?" Teresa smirked.

"Oh, slim it, Teresa. I just fell asleep, I wasn't planning on it. Don't give me that look. You should go tell everyone you found me. I'll be sleeping. I'm still exhausted." Newt said and closed the door. He was about to resume his position just as Ariadne woke up.

"Hmm? Newt? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?" She asked sleepily and propped herself up on her elbows.

"Mmhm. Everything is fine. I'm sorry, I came in last night to check you were okay and I fell asleep. You should have seen Minho. Whatever it was that he drank had him dancing on the tables. Literally. I think Teresa's got a video. You should see it. It was hilarious. But I think Thomas would disagree with me. He got spew all over his shoes." Newt said sleepily

"Oh, sounds like he gave you both a hard time. Speaking of time, how early is it?" Ariadne asked and yawned. She unplaited her hair and ruffled it with her fingers.

"It's like four. Teresa just woke me up because apparently they had been looking for me but everything's okay now. Actually, not everything." Newt said, suddenly he perked up and looked at Ariadne seriously.

"What is it?" Ariadne frowned.

"When were you going to tell me?" Newt asked.

"Tell you what?" Ariadne panicked.

"When were you going to tell me about this?" Newt grabbed her arm and pulled up her sleeve, exposing the cuts.

"I didn't think anyone would realize. Newt, listen to me, I'm really sorry. I just wanted the pain to go away. It didn't work. If anything I just feel more guilty about it. I've been working on getting better, I promise. It's just taking me time." Ariadne pleaded for him to understand.

"You need to talk about how you're feeling and you can't take everything out on yourself. I did and look where that got me. A permanent limp. I know how it feels when you're in a self-destructive mindset. You feel like you are alone and there is no way to escape all the pain inside but to distract yourself with physical pain because it's more bearable. I know all about the internal struggle to find a balance between feeling too much and not feeling at all. But those thoughts come from deeper issues. For me, it was that I felt empty after losing my memories. For you, it's something different. I understand that these emotions and thoughts are personal, but please remember that you aren't alone. You have all of us now. We're your family, Ari. I'm always here for you whenever you need to talk. You shouldn't be going through this alone." Newt said tenderly.

"I don't know how to explain it," Ariadne whispered, tears rolled down her cheeks. "I guess, after losing so many people that I love, it makes me wonder why? Why did my dad go missing? Why didn't my mum love me like she loved Thomas? And then I got my answer. I wasn't good enough for them. And I see it every time I look at myself. And I feel it every time I'm left to think."

"Don't believe the voice in your head that tells you those things. It's not true. Your father didn't choose to leave you. Your mother was horrible to you. You may not have gotten much love from her, but every time those thoughts enter your head, just think about all the people that _do_ love you. Thomas loves you. Teresa loves you....and so do I." he admitted after a slight hesitation. "You are so amazing, I know it's hard for you to see that in yourself right now, but it's the truth. You don't have to try and get through it alone. You have to come and talk to either me or Teresa about it whenever you feel like this. We'll find a way to help you get better. Okay? I need you to promise me that."

Newt put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. She avoided eye contact and didn't say anything. "Ari? I need you to promise. Can you promise me that? If you don't want to do it for yourself then do it for everyone who loves you."

Ariadne was silent, staring down at her hands in her lap. Newt took one of her hands and gave it a reassuring squeeze. With his other hand, he tilted her face up to look at him. "Promise me, Ari." He whispered.

"I..." Ariadne hesitated. But when she looked into Newt's eyes she couldn't say no. "I promise." She sighed.

Newt breathed out in relief and hugged her. Ariadne pressed her face into her hands and the mattress squeaked as Newt sat down next to her. He pulled Ariadne into his chest and she curled up to him as he caressed her hair. Ariadne's shoulders shook and her body trembled. He let her sob to heart’s content. When her eyes were dry and bloodshot, she pulled away and gave a small smile.

"I think I'd like to see that video of Minho," she said in a croaky voice. Newt took her hand and they walked down the stairs together.


	21. Following Gally

Thomas filled the biggest cooking pot they could find with freezing cold water and dumped it all over Minho's head. The boy yelped as he shot up from the couch, searching for his attackers.

"What did you shanks do to my hair? Do you know how long it takes to pile up all this perfection?! There was this really hot chick last night who loved my hair! I think her name was Frida or something." Minho slurred lazily.

Newt snorted as he came down the stairs and saw what had been happening. "I think the word you're looking for is fire. You were chatting up the bonfire." Newt said plainly. Minho looked confused. Everyone in their cabin was gathered into the living room and for some reason, Harriet was there too.

"Okay, listen up you shanks, someone has to keep Minho in check whilst I'm gone! Make sure he doesn't drink anything else or he'll be dancing up the walls." Gally instructed as he lumbered down the stairs. Minho and the other Gladers looked at him as if he'd grown a second head.

"Maybe I drank more than I thought. The Gally that I know would never be up before lunchtime and he'd never leave without eating at least three breakfasts." Minho said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Slim it shank. The only reason why I'm going out is because I have hard work to do." Gally pointed a finger and glared at Minho.

"Water you say, Captain Gally," Ariadne said sarcastically as she passed him and put two fingers to her temple in salute. Newt grinned at her.

"I'll be back by dinner." He muttered, grabbed his jacket from an armchair and walked out the front door.

"Something is fishy. Gally is acting strange." Teresa said. Thomas looked at her and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, none of us have work to do, since our all high and mighty leader here passed out and has a hangover. Everyone has a week off to rest and heal before we start surviving on our own." Thomas pointed out.

"Well, I'm not sure about almighty but he is pretty high. At least, he was last night." Ariadne said and Newt laughed. He plonked himself down on an armchair and pulled Ariadne down onto the armrest. "But seriously, we have to follow him."

"Are you crazy!? If Gally finds you following him, we’ll be figuring out what to wear to your funeral before we choose what to wear for dinner tomorrow." Minho outburst. "I know that if anything could get Gally up and out before he's eaten and had a long lie-in, it's a girl. And Gally isn't exactly the whole 'let's sit down and talk whilst romantically holding hands' kind of date person. You catch my drift?"

"Okay, I did not need to know that." Ariadne pulled a face.

"It's pretty obvious." Newt shrugged, amused by his uncomfortable best friend.

"Yes, but you didn't need to voice it out loud. That just makes everything worse." Ariadne complained and wrinkled her nose. Newt grinned and the two stared at each other with adoring looks on their faces. Thomas wasn't once to notice things, he was quite an oblivious shank, but even he suspected it was something much more than friendly.

"We need to follow Gally and see what he's up to. I doubt there'd be any girl in this place dumb or ugly enough to settle for Gally." Thomas said and Ariadne snorted.

"I don't know, I reckon Irene would be a pretty good match," Newt said thoughtfully and tilted his head.

"Oh please, she isn't actually ugly, she's much prettier than me. Plus, I'd never wish that curse upon anybody, even if it is Gally. I mean, I know we tease him and everything but he isn't that bad. He's just overly protective, loud, pushy, has anger issues and a really bad look about him. It's a very horrible combination. I actually like Gally, he keeps things interesting and he's hilarious to prank." Ariadne confessed.

"Seriously?" Newt snorted sceptically. "Irene looks like a melted cabbage patch doll who has moved to the circus, caked her face in makeup, magically uplifted her features and now looked like a very pointed faced, painted Annabelle doll. And you are gorgeous. Kind of like a Valkyrie."

"A Valkyrie?" Harriet frowned.

"You know, those super stunning warrior angels who work for Oden and lead the brave souls on the battlefield to Valhalla. I'd gladly die on a battlefield if a Valkyrie would take me away to stay with her forever." Minho said and winked at Harriet, who rolled her eyes but smiled all the same. Newt, on the other hand, was watching Ariadne like a hawk.

Now that Thomas had noticed it, it was a lot easier to pick up on all the signs. Everyone knew they were the best friends on the face of the Earth but could that be something more if they gave it the chance? Thomas knew that both of them were the type of people who would be scared of their own feelings, so actually admitting them would be hard. Pushing away the unnerving thought of his sister and best friend together, he got up and started towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" Brenda asked him.

"I'm going to follow Gally. We can't just sit around and keep talking about doing it whilst he's getting further away." Thomas said heatedly.

"I couldn't have said it better myself. You only live once. I'm in." Ariadne said energetically and popped herself off the couch, linking her arm through Thomas'.

"Yeah, okay. We'll go find Gally, you guys can clean up the water. Minho, maybe you should come and get some fresh air as well. It should do you some good." Thomas agreed. Minho got up off the couch and flailed a little to keep his balance before putting two thumbs up and starting to walk towards them. Then he tripped over the coffee table leg and face-planted into the carpet.

"Well, if you're going to walk like that, Gally will know we're after him. Try to keep the face planting to a minimum." Ariadne sighed, and she and Thomas took each of Minho's arms and hauled him with them. Newt shot Minho a look that Thomas interpreted to be saying, 'you touch her and you're dead'. Now Thomas was almost certain that there was something more going on. They made their way out of the house and down the field. Sonya was standing with Aris and a red-headed girl, talking next to the exterminated bonfire.

"Hey, Aris, Sonya!" Thomas called out to them. And then Ariadne and Minho followed him over to where the group were standing. "Hey, have you guys seen Gally? Tall, big build?"

They shook their heads, not knowing what he was talking about, so Ariadne pushed forward. "He also has a permanent scowl and an...interesting pair of eyebrows." She nodded. The group let out ' _ oh' _ s of realisation.

"Yeah! Him. The General. Well, ex-general." Sonya said, with a polite smile at Minho who was staring at her with the weirdest expression on his face. Thomas thought it was a mix of seductive and tired. Sonya hurriedly looked away.

"He went to the edge of the forest behind the REC centre. Why are you looking for him? Is something wrong?" The redhead asked.

"Oh, no nothing like that...uh, I'm sorry, I don't know your name? I'm Thomas." Thomas asked her.

"Oh, I know who you are Thomas, everyone does. I'm Evangeline. Angie for short. " She answered with a smile.

"Angie, it's nothing like that. We're just following him to see what he's up to for fun." Ariadne said.

"Oh, can we come too?" Sonya perked up.

"I can't see why not." Ariadne grinned. The group made their way to the edge of the forest behind the REC centre, just as Angie had told them.

"There, that's where I saw him go." The red-head whispered as they peeked out from behind the REC centre.

"He went into the forest? But I specifically told everyone not to go into the forest!" Minho grumbled.

"Well, that just confirms it. We have to see what he's doing in there." Ariadne said. The group ventured through the forest, sticking together tightly.

"How will we know where he went? There aren't any paths to follow." Aris asked.

"It's obvious he went this way." Ariadne said and led the group through a clump of bushes.

"How so?" Harriet asked.

"Gally has a big build so he would have to go through a path that would let him get past, so a softer medium than tree trunks and logs. Bushes. The leaves and branches of this particular bush are snapped and broken to around the same height and width as Gally's build. The twigs and sticks on the floor are snapped and Gally was wearing thick worker boots so his feet would be heavy, a lot heavier than most animals. No animal that heavy would come this close to the forest’s edge." She explained. "Down the river bank, over there, you can see his boots went through the mud and left prints in the soft dirt. Then because of the ridges in his boots, the mud stuck in clumps and every now and then a clump of mud will fall on top of the thick leaves and foliage where mud wouldn't normally be as it hasn't rained here for a while." Everyone was so confident in Ariadne's logic that they gave up trying to help and just followed her.

"Shhh, hide! He's there!" Ariadne whispered and ducked back behind a thick tree trunk. And there he was. Gally. The group had to stifle laughs and outbursts of disgust at what they found. Gally was leaning against a tree blushing and chatting up some girl who was standing across from him. The girl was pretty, she had long brown hair and pale blue eyes.

"I know her, she was in our maze! Her name's Phoebe." Sonya whispered, taping the exchange with her phone.

"Well, whatever her name is, she must be something if she can make Gally blush." Thomas snorted. Ariadne leaned forward to get a closer look but the ground beneath the leaves was deceivingly deep, causing her to stumble forward and fall with a loud crunch. Gally spun around and saw them. Both sides froze for a moment before Gally thundered forward and grabbed Ariadne and hauled her up, pinning her up against the tree by her collar.

"What are you doing, girlie?!" Gally roared and pushed her up against the tree harder. She cried out as her head hit the rough bark. Sonya rushed out of the forest, back the way she'd come, not wanting to make matters worse. Thomas, Angie, Aris and Minho were still hidden and didn't dare to move.

"Gally, please. It was just a joke." Ariadne croaked. 

"What did you do?" Phoebe exclaimed at the brute of a boy.

"Look, I'm really sorry Aria, I didn't mean it. Sometimes I just get embarrassed and then I get angry and you know how I have anger issues. I'm really sorry. Are you okay?" Gally asked awkwardly as he steadied his erratic breathing, standing up and scratching the back of his neck.

Ariadne appeared not to hear him. She began shaking and muttering something over and over again. Thomas stood up and slowly got closer, as he neared her he heard that she was saying something about an uncle. Then she stumbled away from them rapidly, through the forest. The group did their best to follow, but the foliage was so thick and terrain so rocky that they found it difficult. Having to make sure Minho stayed on his feet was also a challenge. As they reached a drop-down to a place that wasn’t visible to them, Thomas and Gally shot forward to stop Ariadne, but she fell through. The group froze and looked at each other in fear. She was gone. Thomas panicked, knowing Newt was going to flip when he found out. How could he have let his own sister get away? What if she was hurt? How were they going to find her? Then they heard her scream.

The group hurried to try and find their way to Ariadne, reaching a clearing that they hadn't passed before. Then a sudden gust of wind picked up and the sound of a huge berg filled their ears. When Thomas saw it, there was no WICKED label on the side. In fact, it wasn't a berg at all. There was just a weird looking symbol. They all panicked.

"Hide, everybody! Hide in the bushes!" Thomas yelled and tugged Minho with him as they all ducked under the thick leaves. Thomas looked around to see if everyone was there. "Wait! Where's Angie and Aris!"

"Thomas!" Aris shouted. He and Angie were running as fast as they could towards the bushes. Just then, a giant spear on a rope shot out from the huge flying ship and it went straight through Aris' chest.

"No!" Phoebe screamed. 

Thomas called out Aris' name but he was limp. Angie snapped her head in the opposite direction to where the group was hiding and started begging for help. Thomas frowned. Who was she talking to? Then the berg-like-ship shot out a net and captured her too. Soon Angie and her cries of help had vanished. Gally, Thomas, Minho and Phoebe looked to each other, desperate for answers. They had entered the woods for a joke and emerged three people less.


	22. The Search for Ariadne

Newt was walking around the fields waiting for Ariadne to come back with Thomas and Minho when Sonya came running out of the woods, casually going back into her cabin and slamming the door. Newt frowned, no one was allowed in the woods. He shrugged it off, attributing her odd behaviour to a romantic interlude and deciding that he should go and talk to her. Forming a bond with his sister was important to him now that she didn’t remember him, but he wasn’t sure how to tell her. He started towards her cabin. That was, until a giant gust of wind blew through the fields and a huge flying ship appeared. At first, he had confused it with a berg, but upon closer inspection, it clearly wasn't. He was starting to worry about his friends, but they were highly capable of taking care of themselves and they'd be fine. At least, that's what Newt tried to convince himself was true. Not long after the flying ship disappeared, Thomas and the rest of the group came back out of the forest. Newt stormed towards them. A thunderous look on his face.

"What is going on here? First, Sonya randomly just runs out of the forest and then disappears into her shucking cabin. Then, a giant berg-thing comes and then disappears. Then you all come running out of the forest looking as if you've seen a massacre!" Newt yelled thrusting his hands towards the forest. A shrill, blood-curdling shriek sounded, followed by a series of gut-wrenching screamed pleas from the forest. Then Newt realised something.

"Where's Ariadne?" He asked and then his face turned from angry to crestfallen. "Thomas, where is she?" He whispered.

"Newt. There was nothing we could do. She ran away when Gally scared her. She got into one of her fits and wandered off. We tried to look for her but we couldn't find her. We came to a clearing and that ship came and shot a spear through Aris and captured Angie. Newt, Aris is dead. We don't know who they were. And Angie, she was yelling at someone to help her but it wasn't us. We don't know who she was talking to. Maybe there's something else on the other side. We have to explore and send out our search teams." Thomas explained, trying to calm his own erratic breathing. A small group of people had gathered and we're listening and speculating what had happened.

"Maybe it's WICKED!" One yelled.

"What if we just went back in time!?" Said another.

"Oh no! We should have known we'll never be safe" sobbed a girl.

"What!? Why would you scare her, Gally? You know she's in a fragile state!" Newt hissed and stormed off into the forest, a mournful feeling settling into his stomach. Aris was dead, another girl was captured and Ariadne was missing. Why couldn't they just catch a break?

"Where are you going?!" Gally shouted after him. Newt didn't even turn around. He just ignored Gally and kept walking.

"Get everyone together in the REC centre! Call a Gathering!" Thomas was yelling. Minho started ushering everyone into the recreational centre, where they had decided to hold their council meetings.

Newt left them all to scramble. His heart was beating so fast that he thought it would jump right out of his chest. He needed to find her before anything really bad happened. What if the people who had killed Aris and taken Angie came back for her? What if she got lost and he couldn't find her? What kinds of animals roamed the deeper parts of the woods? Newt forced himself to disregard these questions as soon as they came, but they were just replaced by more. He followed the sound of her occasional screams. At one point he thought he had found her but it was just a shadow. It must have been. There was no one else in these woods. Was there? Just then he heard a sob somewhere near him. He paused and listened. If something happened to her, Newt felt like a part of him would fall to pieces. Had she thought the same when he was in the maze? If she  _ had _ thought that, did she feel it because he was her friend or was it something more, like it was with him? Ariadne was all that occupied Newt's thoughts these days. He couldn't stop thinking about her. Her smile. Her laugh. Her eyes. Her hair. Her face. Her skin. Her lilting voice. Her cry. Her scream. Her pain. Her touch. It was all he ever thought about. Was it possible that she thought the same of someone else? As long as Newt knew Ariadne was his, he would be happy. But right now Newt was not happy. Right now Newt was not many things. He was not, for one, paying any attention to where he was going. So it was no wonder that when he didn't see the uplifted tree roots he tripped over them, rolling down a steep hill. When he finally stopped rolling, lying on the ground groaning.

"Stupid tree." He muttered under his breath.

"It's hardly the tree's fault you face-planted." A girl's voice, filled with sass masking fear, mocked him. He scrambled up and looked around him, but there was no one there.

"Ariadne?" Newt asked out loud. "Is that you?"

"Of course it's me, you shank." She sniffed. That's when Newt realised her voice wasn't coming from anywhere around him. It was coming from his head. He could hear her voice in his head!

"Look down here." She spoke again. Newt looked down a deep pit in the ground that he didn't notice was there before. He almost fell in when he saw Ariadne sitting with her back against the dirt wall, her head in her knees."Now don't you fall down here too or we'll never get out." 

Oh, so she wasn't in his head.

"Why did you run away?" He asked her.

"I wasn't in control. It was another fit." She said plainly as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Ariadne, you can't just act like nothing's wrong. You should be able to trust me enough to talk to me about it." Newt scolded.

"Are you going to get me out of here or not?" She asked with forced boredom but Newt could see straight through her act.

"Why do you try not to let me in anymore?" He asked her. It was really starting to happen a lot lately.

"What are you talking about?" She asked after a long hesitation. It was very unconvincing to Newt.

"You know what I'm talking about. Don't just lie. Why are you shutting me out?" He insisted on an answer. “You used to tell me everything.”

"People these days take kindness and fear and sadness for weakness. I don't want you to see me as the weak girl who snivels and cries and hides in a corner for all of her life. I want to show everyone I'm more than that. People used to respect me and see me as strong because I never let anyone in. Now I'm just falling apart all over the place." She sighed.

"The people everyone used to be? Those people are dead. They're not here anymore. Everything we've gone through has made us the people we are now. What we are now is because of everything that's happened to us. The people who are the most hurt and the most broken, like you and me, are the strongest people. It doesn't matter how they deal with what they've been through, because they survived. It's alright to lean on people because that's what we’re here for. To help each other. We're all broken here." Newt explained to her. He knew how she felt because he had done the same in the maze. He never told anyone about those destructive thoughts and feelings. He never wanted to seem weak in front of everyone. But he needed to open up and he needed that support.

"I don't want people to see me cry." She said defiantly.

"Well, that's a pity because you look beautiful when you cry." He said truthfully and started to walk away.

"Wait!" Ariadne called out to him and Newt paused. "Aren't you going to get me out?"

"Not until you admit that you need people to help you through everything you're going through. Because I'm prepared to be that person, Ari. I don't care how long it's going to take or how hard everything is going to be. I would risk it all for you. Everything I have or ever had, my home, my memories, my life, I'd give it all up in a heartbeat. For you." Newt said. Ariadne froze.

"I wouldn't want you to do that for me," she said softly.

"Well, that's too bad, because I'd do it anyway. I might not have all of my memories back yet, but the ones that I do have and what I feel is enough to tell me that you are the most important person in the world to me. You promised me that you would talk to me or Teresa when you're holding feelings inside. You better stick to that promise, Ari." He grabbed her hand and pulled her out but didn't let go of her. Instead of stepping away, they stood almost nose to nose, staring into each other's eyes. He brought up his hand slowly to brush her fringe back from her face and ran his fingers through her silky hair before moving back up to cup her cheek. His thumb ran over her skin, causing her breath to catch in her throat.

"You know people say that fear is the most powerful thing. That it's hardest to overcome. The strongest feeling. But it's not. That isn't true at all and I know that only now that I have you. Do you know why? It's love. Love is the most powerful thing in the world. Losing or finding or being with someone you love are the strongest emotions. Love is the hardest thing to get over. It can cross countries and cultures. It's the connection between sisters, brothers, friends, lovers. Between mother and son and father and daughter. Love is the most powerful thing. You need to focus on the people you love." Newt whispered.

Silent tears rolled down her cheeks and she had to stop herself from rushing forwards and meeting Newt's enticing lips with her own. The butterflies in her stomach were sent into a frenzy. She was overwhelmed by him. His smell. His warm brown eyes boring into her soul. His cold hand against her flushed skin was soothing. She could feel the warmth from his chest, it was so close to her own. His name ran through her head like a broken record player. Did he mean he loved her as a friend, or as something more? Newt broke their trance by pulling her closer into a tight hug and ran his hands in circles over back. She couldn't reach his shoulder to rest on, so instead, she turned her head, her ear pressed against his heartbeat. Was it just her imagination, or was it beating too fast?

"I missed you so much when you were gone." She whispered. "I guess it's true that you never know how much you need someone until they're not around."


	23. The Gathering

~~~~Goosebumps rippled up her flesh as she entwined her fingers with his. Ariadne and Newt held onto each other's hands like a lifeline as they walked back through the forest together. She was sure she had never met any boy as loving, sensitive, caring, gentle, romantic, strong, handsome, charming and as perfect for her as he was. Newt was absolutely everything she'd ever dreamt of and so much more. She was entranced by the way words just flowed for him. And they weren't just meaningless words to fill the silence. They had truth and passion behind them. He would never just talk, everything that came out of his mouth was speaking his mind, and she loved that. She loved him, perhaps in a way she wasn't supposed to feel about her best friend.

When the duo arrived back at the safe haven, no one could be seen. It was as if the place was abandoned. The only sign of human life was the loud commotion coming from the REC centre. Newt and Ariadne followed the noise and when they entered the building, they found everyone was crowded inside.

"Alright! Everyone, settle down! Settle down!" Gally shouted over the chattering population. The keepers who were present sat in their chairs and Minho, who was still a little hungover, sat in the one right in the middle.

"We have called you all to a gathering to discuss the events that unfolded early this morning. A little over two hours ago." Minho said, clearly bored with the formalities.

"What happened?" Brenda called out from her seat. The gathering erupted into questions. Gally raised his hands and they fell silent, used to obeying his orders as most of them had been rescued by the Right Arm when he was the leader.

"A giant flying ship thingy-majiggy flew into the forest, captured a girl called Evangeline and shot a spear through Aris before disappearing. We can be pretty sure he's dead but we don't know about Angie." Minho said unenthusiastically.

Several girls who Thomas guessed were friends of Angie and Aris burst into tears. Thomas had to try to stop his own eyes from spilling water as well. He hadn't known Aris for long, but saving each other's lives and depending on each other like they had to in the Scorch created bonds that would last forever. The Gladers were a perfect example of that.

"Don't sound so bloody sympathetic for them, Minho. Their friends have just been killed or captured." Newt's sarcastic voice wrung through the hall and he walked in through the mass of people, clutching to Ariadne's hand. Thomas didn't miss this little detail and from the smirk Teresa sent his way she didn't either. "Sorry for my dispassionate friend but I'm sure most of you noticed that he had a rather bloody lot to drink last night. The buggin' shank was face-planting off of stages, singing like a crank and reciting clunking Shakespeare. How did you know all the words, by the way, Min?"

"Can we please not talk about that. It was in the past and I let the past go. Unless you were a pretty girl who I was chatting up. If so, come find me." He winked to the crowd. Harriet groaned and rolled her eyes at the reaction of a group of giggling girls behind her.

"I see you found Aria, huh Newt? I swear nothing can keep your shucking hands off her. It's like they're magnetic." Gally quipped and his friends roared with laughter.

"If I recall correctly you aren't the only one who can't keep your hands off a girl." Ariadne raised her eyebrows, saving her blushing...friend? Crush? He was her...Ariadne searched for the perfect word...Newt. He was her Newt and she was his Ariadne. They didn't need labels.

"Oh, shut up, girlie," Gally muttered, going red in the face.

"Hello! Maybe we should focus on the matter we have at hand? The whole reason we called this meeting in the first place? Comprehendo Hermano?" Jorge called out, earning an appreciative rouse from the audience.

"Yes, thank you, Jorge!" Thomas agreed."So the real question is what do we do about it?"

"That's simple. But it will be dangerous." Ariadne said, biting her bottom lip. Thomas didn't miss the way that Newt was watching what she was doing like he'd do anything to kiss her.

Thomas was starting to pick up on a lot of things, actually. Like the way his blond friend glared when boys looked at her inappropriately. The way he cared for her and protected her every second he could. The way he was always around her whenever possible. Even sometimes when it's not possible he'd stretch the limits and go out of his way for her. That's what it was like to love someone. Thomas felt a pang of jealousy at what they had and a protective distaste. He wanted someone to be able to lean on like that. He'd wanted Teresa to be the one, but after what she did, he hadn't been able to fully forgive her for breaking his heart. Then there was Brenda. She was amazing and she cared for him, but Thomas knew deep down that he couldn't really return those feelings when his mind was constantly on Teresa. He didn't have the courage to tell Brenda that. It wasn't like back in the Glade when everyone was scrambling over one another for the attention of a girl. There was an abundance of lovely girls in this place but it was clear only one stood out to Newt. And only two stood out to Thomas. He wished this stuff was as easy for him as it was with his sister. But then again, It wasn't easy with Newt and Ariadne. They had to get through so much. Most relationships wouldn't last through all that they've both been through. Which has to go to show that what they have is really something. Thomas thought about all of this and had completely zoned out of the conversation when the rest spoke his name. He looked around sheepishly.

"Thomas, did you hear anything we've been saying for the past ten minutes?" Teresa scolded him.

"Yeah, of course. I completely agree with Aria." He said, just to be safe since Ariadne was always right. Teresa nodded.

"Okay, great. So you'll be in squad team one?" She asked. Thomas had no idea what she was on about.

"Okay, I know exactly what that is and I heard everything you all said, but could you repeat what that means and everything you all said? You know, just for the people in the audience who weren't listening. Not that I wasn't listening. Because I was." Thomas said. Teresa let out a frustrated groan, completely unconvinced.

"Smooth." Minho snorted under his breath.

"Yeah, smooth as chunky peanut butter, that is." Newt added and the pair smirked. Thomas shot them both playful glares.

"We agreed that we needed to investigate what was beyond the forest. You said that Angie was yelling at someone to help, so maybe someone was on the other side. It's entirely possible there's another population somewhere close and they can tell us what's going on." Teresa briefed and Thomas nodded.

"So you want to send a few squads into the forest to see what's on the other side of each direction?" Thomas asked, getting the gist of everything.

"Exactly. We should have four squads each heading in a different direction. We'll have groups of five in each. But we need an equal amount of Keepers in each also. So the first group's leaders will be Newt and me. The second group will be led by Gally and Frypan. The third will be Minho and Harriet. The fourth will be Jorge and Teresa. The other three members in the first group will be Sonya, Thomas and Brenda. The second group will have Irene, Archie and Johnny. The third will have Rosa, Frankie and Ruth, and the fourth will have Louis, Nicole and Alex. Any objections?" Ariadne called out. No one said anything.

"Okay, all for!" Minho called out. Almost everyone raised their hands. "Majority rules, so all you shanks who have a problem can go klunk yourselves." The assembly was dismissed and the Keepers joined to talk about preparations.

"So, we have a plan." Minho started. Everyone expected him to say something else as he was the leader but he just kept nodding his head.

"Well, when do we leave? You're the leader Minho, so lead us." Ariadne prompted.

"Okay, as leader I suggest that we ask Aria as she has been the only one who knows what the shuck is going on half the time. Any objections to my leadership?" Minho looked around to the group. Some faced him with sarcastic looks and others could barely hold in their laughter.

"Yes, I have an objection to your leadership, oh bloody great one. Are you actually ever going to lead? Or are you just going to keep pretending you know more than everyone else and ask Ari for all the answers when no one is looking?" Newt asked sceptically.

"That is exactly my plan. Anything else you want to add, oh shucking great Newton?" Minho mockingly challenged. Newt looked up as if thinking for a moment then shook his head, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Nope, I'm good." He said finally.

"Good that. So Aria? Any suggestions?" Minho asked.

"Yes, we should leave early tomorrow morning. That way we'll be in the forest by around the same time as the ship appeared. Maybe it has a routine and we'll see it again. It's also the easiest time because we can almost be sure we'll reach the other side or a village by the time the sun goes down, so no roaming about the woods at night. If we don't find anything by nightfall, we'll have to set up a camp. We'll continue on for another few days like that and if we still find nothing we'll turn back around and head here to regroup and rethink. So our journey should take a week at the most. If we're not back by a week someone will raise the alarm. We need someone in charge whilst we're gone." Ariadne planned out.

"Okay, we’ll put Gally's girlfriend in charge, Phoebe," Thomas said solemnly. "If she can deal with him, she can deal with anything."

"Well that's great and all, but what do we do about Aris? Going on as if nothing happened is not a good message to send to everyone. We're trying to be the opposite of what WICKED was. We need to commemorate him." Newt said grimly before Gally could interject. The Brit looked to Ariadne who confirmed the thought with a nod.

"Sure. I'll organise it. But Minho? No drinking, we need you to be at least half alive when we leave." Ariadne said. The mood was too sombre to laugh so they all gave small, forced smiles, weak none the less.

"Well, we'd better head off to lunch. Don't want to make things seem worse than they are. Plus, I think Newt's stomach is making enough noise to call back that ship." Minho had a feeble attempt at a joke. The group looked around to each other. The friends that had saved each other's lives numerous times. Through the hard times, they had each other for support. It would take a lot more than this to break them.


	24. Tickle Fight

Ariadne sat with her knees brought up to her chest and her head in her hands on the edge of the lake. She was mesmerised by the water slowly lapping against the rocks. Everyone was at lunch but she had managed to sneak out. When she heard the footsteps behind her she knew someone was there. She pretended that she had no idea for a few moments. Then she noticed that the footsteps were uneven. 

"Newt, I know you're there." She sighed.

"How'd you know it was me?" He slowly sat down with his back up against a tree trunk next to her. The lanky boy plucked at the strands of grass, twirling them between his fingers. Ariadne watched him closely.

"I heard your footsteps and I could tell." She said pointing at his ankle. He nodded his head. A part of her wanted to be closer to him and she wanted, no, needed him to hold her and play with her hair and whisper with his soothing voice in her ear. But he kept his distance. She respected that but she didn't really want it.

"It's peaceful here." Newt was secretly feeling the same way.

"I wish things could be this calm forever." She sighed in reply just as her stomach emitted a loud rumble that would challenge even the best efforts of a herd of elephants.

"It sounds like there's a war going on in there. Lucky I knew you wouldn't want to eat after what happened in the woods, so I brought you a plate." Newt laughed and motioned behind him to a still-warm plate of the delicious creamy pasta lying on the thick log people often used as a seat or table. The amazing smell made her mouth water but she couldn't eat after what had happened to her.

"Frypan really outdid himself this time. Thanks, Newt, but I'm not hungry." She lied and her stomach protested and sold her out with a loud grumble. Newt looked at her, concern etched into his frown.

"Come on, gorgeous, you've got to eat something. I've been paying attention, you know. You haven't eaten since dinner last night and even then you didn't eat much. You skipped lunch and breakfast too, yesterday. If you keep going like this you'll get sick. I know it's hard to eat when you've been put off but you  _ are _ hungry and you don't need me to tell you that. Your stomach is complaining loud enough for both of us." Newt prompted.

"Really, thanks Newt. But I can't eat." She refused and he got up off the ground, brushing his jeans off. "Where are you going?"

"Relax, gorgeous, I'm just getting the plate. If you're not going to eat it willingly I'll just have to force-feed you." Newt said casually.

"I'm not a baby." Ariadne scowled.

"Well, I'm going to take care of you anyways. Always." Newt said and sat back down next to her with the plate of pasta. Ariadne's stomach groaned and wanted her to eat but she couldn't. She scrunched her nose up at the dish and looked away. Newt pulled her to sit in his lap.

"Newt, I really don't want to eat anything. I promise that if I could, I would, but I just can't. What I saw was..." Ariadne shuddered at the thought.

"Tell me about it. You can't keep everything bottled up or you'll bloody explode. So talk. I love listening to your voice." He said and put the plate to the side to free up his hands. He pulled her long hair out of the ponytail it was in and started plaiting it, then undoing it and braiding it again.

"Well, it was terrifying. It's like I could feel myself going insane. Then I remembered your name. I held on to all the memories I had of you and it brought me back." She explained, her eyes landing on the same black and white bird she had seen on the balcony rail the previous day. She watched it flying from tree to tree and hopping on the branches.

"Wow, even the memory of me is a hero." He joked. Ariadne thumped his shoulder and rolled her eyes but she couldn't help but laugh. His eyes lit up and it was clearly his intention to make her happy.

"Newt!" She scolded.

"You look cute when you're angry." He grinned and chuckled. She rolled her eyes again but giggled and blushed.

"I hate it when people say that." She grumbled.

"So, will you eat now?" Newt asked. Ariadne was about to roll her eyes again but she stopped halfway which left her feeling dumb and staring up the tree.

"You know what, surprisingly I feel much better. And I am starving, so yes." She gave in and her and Newt shared the pasta dish. Newt was slowly chewing the last mouthful of the creamy pasta and watching Ariadne intently.

"What?" Ariadne smiled nervously.

"Nothing, just thinking and remembering things. You know, when I first woke up I thought you were an Angel and I was dead." Newt told her and Ariadne's cheeks flushed crimson.

"Well, when I first saw you when we found you half dead, I couldn't help but think that you looked a bit like the superheroes in those Marvel movies after they've saved the world. Like Thor." She asked.

"Are you comparing me to Chris Hemsworth?" Newt said and rolled up his shirt sleeves, showing his muscles. "I'm glad you noticed the resemblance."

"No, I am most certainly not comparing you with Chris Hemsworth. Chris Hemsworth has better abs." Ariadne quipped and Newt grabbed her from behind and pushed her to the ground, tickling her stomach. She laughed and giggled and rolled around like a four-year-old.

"Newt! Newt! Sto...stop...please. Newt!" She gasped between her laughing as Newt pinned her down so she stopped squirming. When he leaned in close Ariadne's heart almost stopped. When his nose brushed against hers, she didn't mind at all.

"Hey! You two love birds! Get your overactive assess overhear. You wanna channel all that energy into being useful?" Minho yelled at them. Ariadne rolled her eyes and Newt groaned.

"Coming, Minho!" He shouted and pulled himself off of Ariadne. He helped her up, ignoring the passing boys who let out wolf whistles and catcalls. The two made their way over to where Minho, Harriet, Gally and Phoebe were sitting and joined them.

"Hi, I'm Ariadne. It's Phoebe, right?" Ariadne smiled sweetly at the girl and sat down on the log next to Newt opposite her.

"Yeah, that's right. It's nice to properly meet you. I mean, I've heard so much. I'm Gally's girlfriend." She smiled back and looked to Gally, who had started going as red as a fire hydrant.

"I never thought I'd live to see the day that Gally got a girlfriend," Newt said and shot Ariadne a wink, she blushed and chewed on her bottom lip. Newt loved it when she did that, it drove him crazy.

"I could say the same about you." Gally snorted, eyeing how Newt's hand was positioned on the small of Ariadne’s back.

"So, what did you want us for, Minho?" Ariadne changed the subject before she turned into a human fire engine.

"Nah, he didn't want you for any specific reason other than you two being too lovey-dovey to be seen in public alone," Gally told them.

"Seriously? It was just a tickle fight." Ariadne grumbled, trying and failing to hide her embarrassment.

"Don't listen to Gally. Haven't you learnt that already? If we'd listened to Gally we'd still be stuck in that shucking maze. I need to know what we should all take with us. We don't exactly have many weapons and the ones we have won't be much help against whatever's in the forest or that berg-like ship." Minho explained.

"Well, what weapons do we have?" Newt asked.

"We got a few bows and some arrows, a couple of shock guns, regular guns, a few spears, a sword, some daggers, knives, nothing too fancy."

"Well, who the shuck would know how to use a bow and arrows?" Gally scrunched his face up.

"I do." Newt shrugged.

"You'll have to teach me sometime. I know I'm pretty handy with a sword. I can use guns, knives and daggers too, but my thing is a sword." Ariadne smiled at Newt.

"Well, I'm not very good at that so you'll have to help me," Newt replied and Ariadne nodded.

"Sounds perfect." She said.

"We've got no time to train!" Gally complained.

"You still have a few hours between now and dinner. Make sure you all get your rest though because we need to be at our best. You don't know what we're up against." Phoebe said grimly.

"I think we should head off to get our hands on some of those weapons to try to get the hang of it," Gally muttered and he and Phoebe left the group.

There was an awkward silence before Minho sighed and got up as well. "Don't be too late, you two. We don't need any mini Newts running around." He said before stalking away.

"He's really lost his sense of humour," Newt muttered.

"I can't blame him. He thinks he's safe and then after one day in paradise everything crashes down again." Ariadne murmured. Newt looked at her closely.

"You're very cynical, you know that." He said eventually.

"I'm not cynical, I'm realistic."

"And stunning, smart, creative, funny, feisty, caring, loyal, brave, strong, loveable and every other amazing thing I can think of." Newt nodded, making Ariadne blush.

"Newt, lying is a sin." She retorted. He looked at her confused.

"You seriously don't believe me? Add modest and insecure to that list." Newt said and pulled her closer to him. "But seriously, it's all true. I may not be a cynic or an optimist but I'm a realist as well."

"A realist with lots of hope," Ariadne added.

"That might be so." Newt laughed, thinking about how badly he wished she felt the same way about him as he did about her. "Come on, we should go and train."

Ariadne nodded in agreement and the two set off to find the military unit's training room.


	25. Sleeping Beauty

Newt stood behind Ariadne and held his arms over hers as he guided her hands around the bow. He let his fingers trail across her skin as he helped her position the arrow. Once she was holding it out in front of her correctly Newt moved his arms down to her waist and positioned her hips in the right direction. He showed her how to keep her form as she pulled her elbow back. Giving in to the temptation to test her reaction to him, he rested his head at the crook of her neck, almost pressing his lips up against her ear as he whispered instructions. She was blushing and nibbling on her bottom lip and Newt noticed this, so he held her closer. When she let the arrow fly she got almost as close to the bullseye as Newt did, and was just on the edge.

"Great job, gorgeous." He whispered. She shivered and looked away, becoming very concentrated on the structure of the bow. This only made Newt more aware of the effect he had on her and made him grin. Was it possible she fancied him?

"I think I have the hang of it, Newt. Thanks." She said quietly and turned around, bumping straight into Newt's chest and her breath was caught in her throat. She was afraid to look up in case of an...accident, suddenly noticing how much taller than her he was. The top of her head barely reached his chin.

"Watch where you're going, Ari. Don't want to hurt yourself." He chuckled, he felt proud of himself for being able to have this effect on her. Not for the first time, he wondered if it was possible that she felt the same way that he did about her? Then she suddenly stepped back and started putting away her gear. Newt smirked and hung up his bow too.

"So, are you going to teach me how to use a sword now? I'm feeling a little weak, so you'll have to bear with me." He said to her.

"You're feeling weak? After what you just pulled on me I'm surprised I haven't passed out already." She muttered under her breath, thinking he couldn't hear her. Newt held back his laughter and followed close behind her to the sword station.

"Choose a sword that has the right balance for you. It shouldn't be too long or too short, or too heavy or too light. Make sure the handle comfortably sits in your hand and it's easy to swing." Ariadne told him and went to choose her sword. They didn't have many but they were of good quality. She found one that fitted her perfectly.

"Alright, I've found one. What next, Ari?" He asked. Ariadne just took him by the arms and led him over to the dummy stations.

"Are you handy with anything other than a bow?" She asked bluntly. Newt knew she was trying to be feisty to cover for how she had reacted earlier.

"Other than a shovel, gun or a stick? Not really." He chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. He seemed to do that a lot when he was nervous. Like her lip-biting problem. Not that it was a problem. He loved it, it made her look adorable. She nodded in reply and came up behind him. Unbeknownst to Newt, she was trying to make him feel as intimidated as he had made her.

Ariadne's arms slid down Newt's and she grasped his hands, showing him how to properly grip a sword. She was pressed up against his back and Newt was as red as a ripe tomato. Ariadne grinned.

"Let's start with the basics. So you hold it like this and then obviously you have to make sure that you swing with the sharp edge of the sword facing the victim. The flat end just stings if you're whacked with it. Okay, I'm going to let go and you can try by yourself." She instructed him. She stepped back and Newt swung the sword in a short arc and brought down in between the shoulder blades of the test dummies they had made out of straw and fabric bags. The entire dummy came completely apart.

"Okay, that start swing was great but you've got to complete the motion afterwards otherwise it's too stiff and your movement won't flow. The sword won't come back and be ready to block or strike fast enough and your guard will be down." Ariadne pointed out and picked up her sword.

She stabbed at one of the dummies, ducked, swiped and twirled, dropped to her knees and drove the sword upwards into the dummy's gut.

"Bloody hell! How did you learn to do that?" Newt gaped at her.

"I had to take up fencing and other stuff after you left. It was kind of like my sport." Ariadne shrugged.

"Well, you should do it again, sugar, it makes you look hot!" Frankie cat called from the other side of the room. Newt's hands curled into tight fists, his jaw clenched and he looked like he was about to murder someone. At that moment Ariadne felt a thousand memories rush to the forefront of her mind at once. The nickname she had often been branded by Teddy and Charlie,  _ sugar _ , rang through her head. She gasped and collapsed forward. Newt immediately sprang into action, catching her as she fell.

He instantly dismissed Frankie's outburst and picked her up bridal style. Ariadne looked as though she was sleeping. Newt shifted her to a more comfortable position in his arms and carried her out of the building. Newt gained a few weird looks from passing Gladers and the like whilst he was walking through the working fields to the cabin but he ignored them.

He had to lay her gently down on the steps of the porch so he could take out his key and unlock the door. He stopped the door from closing with his foot as he picked Ariadne up again. Closing the door behind them, Newt walked down the hallway and up the stairs, trying to move as smoothly as possible as not to disturb his sleeping beauty.

He debated on where to put her once he had gotten upstairs. In his room, he was able to keep an eye on her and also be able to have an excuse to stay with her overnight if the moment arrived. But in the end, he placed her softly down on the queen bed in her own room. Not wanting to impose too much and make her uncomfortable. She seemed slightly startled when she had woken up that morning to Newt in the room. He sat on the edge of her bed and watched her as she slept, or was knocked out...whichever it was, he had no idea. All he knew was that he wished he could take her pain away and help her.

Her smooth, olive skin had gone unusually pale as a stark comparison to her peach-toned, full lips. Her eyes moved frantically beneath her shut lids. There was nothing Newt could do to stop himself from imagining how much this reminded him of the Snow White fairy tale. Didn't a prince kiss her and she woke up in that story? Yes. Newt was pretty sure that was exactly what happened. In fact, wasn't that the same plotline as Sleeping Beauty?

He reached his hand out and brushed through her long hair, feeling the silky texture slip in between his fingertips. Before he could decide otherwise he leaned over her and planted a soft, quick kiss on her forehead. It wasn't the place he ached the most to meet, but peace still flooded him. At his contact, Ariadne took in a deep breath and her beautiful, hazel eyes flickered up to his brown ones. There was nothing he wanted to do more than close the gap between her smiling lips, but he pulled away.

"Would you look at that? Our princess is alive." He said in a low voice and she shivered.

"Newt? Why is it so cold in here? Where are we? How did we get here?" She asked. Emotion filled her voice and Newt could detect each one. Panic, confusion, anguish and fear.

"Shh, it's okay gorgeous, it's just the air conditioner, I can turn it down if you want. We're in your bedroom. I carried you here after you fainted." Newt whispered soothingly. "Are you alright? What was it this time?"

"It was just a bunch of flashbacks of training. All of them together kind of hit me like a shockwave and knocked me out. I've got a massive headache. What time is it?" She groaned and propped herself up on her elbows.

"It's around two-thirty. There's still plenty of time for you to rest before dinner." Newt assured her and brushed his fingertips across her arm. He felt the goosebumps ripple up her skin. She plopped herself back down onto the comfortable mattress and sighed as she rolled over onto her side.

"Stay with me?" she gripped his arm and tugged him to lay down behind her. Ariadne tangled her fingers with his and pulled his arm over her waist. Newt happily shuffled closer and held her in his arms. "I'm just really scared of having a bad dream." She murmured and closed her eyes.

"If you do, I'll wake you up," Newt whispered and buried his nose in the warm juncture between her neck and shoulder. Her soft hair tickled his nose.

"You promise?" Ariadne asked him.

"Promise." He vowed and she fell fast asleep. He lay, arms around her like a winter coat, listening to the sound of her breathing. Now that he thought about it, the nightmares that normally plagued him hadn’t made an appearance since he had reunited with Ariadne. It was as if her very presence chased them away, illuminating the darkness with her blinding light. It wasn't long before he drifted off as well.


	26. Bro Talk

Newt woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door. Not wanting to wake Ariadne, he slowly and carefully climbed out of bed and answered it.

"Tommy, you'll bloody wake her up! Slim it, shank. Now, what do you want?" Newt whispered.

He had come here to check up on his sister and perhaps have some sibling bonding time, but now that he had Newt alone it was the perfect time to question him. "Do you have feelings for my sister, Newt?" He demanded.

A thousand thoughts rushed through Newt’s head. Why did Thomas want to know? Should he tell the truth? What if it would ruin the close brotherly bond between him and Thomas? Newt knew that he wanted to be much more than Ariadne's friend, but what if she didn't feel the same? Would Thomas tell her? Would it ruin  _ their _ friendship?

"Look, Tommy, I don't know what the shuck you're talking about." Newt decided to lie and tried to shut the door.

"Newt, I know you well enough to tell when you're covering something up. You can tell me the truth. I've seen the way you look at her." Thomas stuck his foot in the gap, preventing him from doing so.

"I don't know what to tell you, Tommy." Newt sighed with irritation at his persistent friend but opened the door. "I know she's your sister and this must be weird for you but...she means the world to me. We were best friends for years before the maze but along the way I...I fell for her. Even when I didn't remember anything about her, those feelings were there. Bloody hell, Tommy, I don't know what to do. I don't want to ruin things by making a move if she doesn't feel the same."

"Newt, I think everyone can see that you both feel the same about each other. I'll admit it's a bit weird, seeing you two together, but it's good to see you both happy. I'd never want to jeopardise that." The brunette boy admitted.

"Thanks, Tommy. It means a lot to me." Newt clapped his friend on the back.

"You should tell her how you feel. Who knows when you'll next get the chance." Thomas advised and Newt nodded. "And Newt, I'm glad I missed the shot and I'm sorry for-"

"Tommy, you have no reason to apologise. You did what I needed you to do. Did a pretty klunk job of it, but that was for the best too." Newt cut off his friend. "It's water under the bridge, mate."

Thomas nodded, "Oh, and it goes without saying that if you hurt my sister or try anything on her, I'll make sure I don't miss the next time I shoot you."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Tommy." Newt grinned fondly. 


	27. Waking up the Princess

Ariadne murmured in her light sleep, someone was waking her up. "Go away." She mumbled and turned away from the noise.

"Gorgeous, you've got to get up or you'll be late for the memorial dinner," Newt whispered.

"I don't care. I'm tired. Please let me sleep, Newt." She buried her head under a mound of pillows and blankets.

"Frypan is making cheesecake for dessert." He teased in a sing-song voice. She stopped moving further under the covers.

"What kind of cheesecake?" Ariadne asked suspiciously, opening one of her eyes a crack to peer at him.

"Baileys cheesecake with the Oreo biscuit base. Your favourite." She could hear him chuckling. Ariadne flung the sheets and the pillow off from her and huffed.

"You'd better not be lying to me, Newton. I take my food very seriously." She narrowed her eyes but there was nothing behind it. Newt pulled her out of bed and playfully dumped her on the cold tiles. She shrieked at the freezing temperature and pulled him down with her, pushing on his chest and sitting on top of him.

"Don't you ever do that again." She said menacingly. Her hair had fallen over her face and was extra messy. This just made Newt laugh harder.

"You look so cute when you're angry." He grinned and she glared.

"Oh shut up! Slim it! Whatever!" Ariadne grumbled.

"You look extra cute when you use Glader language." He teased, aiming to set her off again.

"Oh, shut up!" She protested so Newt made up his own jingle.

"You look so cute when you're angry, You look so cute when you're cursing. You look so cute when you're nervous." he sang in a jumpy tune. Ariadne tried numerous times and failed to get him to be quiet. The thought crossed her mind to just grab his face in her hands, lean down and kiss him to shut him up. Newt had finally gone silent, a permanent grin on his face.

"What?" she asked him.

"Well, I have to say, that would definitely be the most effective tactic. You should start with that next time," he smirked and blood rushed to her face when she realised she had voiced her thought out loud.

"There better not be a 'next time'." Ariadne threatened and swung herself off of Newt, getting to her feet and sitting on the side of the bed.

"Trust me when I say this, gorgeous, next time won't be too far away if that's how you'll shut me up." Newt retorted cheekily. Ariadne rolled her eyes at him, believing that he was just messing with her. She was unaware that he completely meant it.

"What am I going to do with you?" She sighed as Newt sat down on the bed next to her. She tucked her legs up and ran her hand through his soft, fluffy hair. She admired the beautiful golden, blonde but tinted brown colour of it.

"You could shut up and kiss me?" Newt suggested playfully.

"Not gonna happen, Romeo. You woke me up for a reason and I want my cheesecake." She retorted and shoved her feet into a pair of converse. She inspected what she was wearing. Pale blue jeans and a white sweater. Then she frowned. No. That wouldn't be good enough. There was a memorial dinner for Aris that night. And she was making a speech. She had to put her best foot forward as a part of the new leadership. Newt noticed her hesitance.

"You look beautiful." He assured her. She shook her head.

"Nah, I'm gonna get changed." She said plainly.

"Okay," Newt said. Ariadne waited a moment and when he didn't move she shot him an expectant look.

"Uh, get out?" She said and raised her eyebrows at him.

"Oh, you meant now? Oh. Okay." Newt replied, stood up and awkwardly walked to the door, pausing as he looked back. Then he disappeared through the doorway and pulled the door closed behind him. 


	28. Babysitting Minho

Newt's eyes bulged and he inspected Ariadne from her black and gold heeled ankle boots to her hair that was falling in perfect, lustrous waves down her back and over her shoulders. Her form-fitting black dress hugged every curve of her body and he had to stop his line of sight from dipping to the deep plunge of her neckline.

"You look amazing." he complimented.

"Thanks, I figured that black was appropriate." She shrugged as if it was no big deal but was secretly very proud at the reaction she got from Newt. The boy gawked at her some more before she held her arm out to him. He took it gladly and they left their cabin together. As they approached the mass of people gathered in the hall, Ariadne took in what everyone else was wearing. Most girls had gone for a similar look to her. The boys hadn't bothered as much, all just in jeans and shirts with black leather boots. That was exactly what Newt was wearing too. Ariadne thought he looked kinda hot in it, but then again she always found him attractive.

This commemoration wasn't as informal and crazy as karaoke night. This was elegant, elaborate and sophisticated. There were drinks tables and dessert bars and dinner buffets. No one gorged themselves in case of the unlikely event of spewing. Most people stayed away from the drinks tables unless they found something safe that they were positive was either water, fizzy drinks, juices, coffee, hot chocolate... basically anything non-alcoholic. Minho had been a perfect example of what could happen last time. Ariadne dragged Newt straight over to the dessert bar and headed for the Oreo-based Baileys cheesecake but he stopped her.

"Gorgeous, you can't have dessert before dinner. It's one of the main unspoken rules in the Glade you know." He instructed her. She paused for a moment and looked from Newt to the cheesecake. Then from the cheesecake to Newt and from Newt back to the cheesecake and finally from the cheesecake to Newt. She decided what she wanted.

"Shuck your rules." She said plainly and continued on her way to the cheesecake.

Newt grinned and shook his head, unable to contain his laughter. What had this girl done to him? He couldn't imagine ever wanting anything different from her. She was perfect for him, everything he had ever wanted or needed. Ariadne cut a huge slice for herself and began digging in as soon as she got her hands on a spoon. She groaned and looked up to the heavens, her left eyelid twitching.

"Oh! It's so good!" She shovelled more into her mouth. Newt watched her, still laughing. She paused with her spoon in her mouth. After a few moments she pulled the spoon out from her lips and put it gently back on the plate.

"Did you want some?" She asked, but her mouth was full and she was struggling to keep the food in her mouth whilst she spoke so her words distorted to sound a lot like ' _ igloo aunt umm _ '. Newt snorted and bent over laughing harder than he ever had before. Ariadne swallowed the cake in a large gulp and wiped her mouth.

"Newt! Just shut up! It's not that funny!" She protested. Tears of laughter trickled down his face and he went completely red, losing his breath. He tried to say something several times but each time he tried he broke out in more fits of laughter. When he had composed himself enough he wiped the tears from his eyes and took in deep breaths.

"You really love that cheesecake. You know baileys is alcohol, right?" He asked her. She shrugged and nodded. "You're as much of a drunk as Minho."

"I am not a drunk because I like a cheesecake that has a little bit of alcohol in it!" her jaw dropped.

"What is your favourite lollie?" He asked simply, shooting her a sceptic look.

"You know what it is. You used to get them for me when I was upset. It's Ouzo lollies. The Greek ones in the blue wrappers." She replied, confused.

"Exactly. The main ingredient in those is Ouzo, which is a Greek alcohol." Newt said smugly. "I rest my case."

"Oh my gosh, Newt. Sometimes you're such a pain in the behind." Ariadne rolled her eyes. "It tastes like liquorice."

"Liquor-ish?" Newt pointed out as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You're making me sound bad," Ariadne whispered.

"Don't let your Aunt Umm up in that Igloo hear me." Newt said in mock horror and frantically turned his head around pretending to search for her supposed 'Aunt Umm'.

"I hate you." Ariadne glared and crossed her arms.

"Come on, gorgeous. You know you love me! I'm irresistible." He said with his winning grin and British accent. She rolled her eyes and turned her head away from him, finishing off the rest of her gigantic piece of cheesecake with no shame. Just at that moment, a completely wasted Minho lumbered through the crowd and stumbled to an ungraceful stop next to them.

"I thought that he was supposed to stay away from the bloody alcohol," Newt muttered.

"And you were comparing me to him." Ariadne rolled her eyes.

"This is not good. You didn't see how he got by the end of the night. It was a disaster! This is supposed to be an event out of respect to our murdered friend. Our leader has to set a better example than this bumbling buffoon." Newt began his rant about how irresponsible Minho was being. "How are we meant to respectfully commemorate Aris and deal with the comedic antics of a high Minho at the same time. This is completely unprofessional!"

"Newt, it'll be okay. Thomas is already on the case." Ariadne lightly placed a hand on his arm, pausing him mid-freakout. "Besides, have you ever thought that maybe alcohol is Minho's way of dealing with everything he's been through? People have different coping mechanisms. We've all been making a big joke out of it, but maybe he needs support, just like I do, instead of people chastising him."

"I never thought about it like that, Ari." The blond teen considered what she was suggesting.

"We'll look after him tonight and make sure he doesn't get into any trouble. Tomorrow someone needs to talk to him. I hate that everything is falling onto your shoulders, with having to watch out for me as well, but you are his closest friend. You should talk to him." The brunette shuffled her feet, a guilty expression across her features.

"Hey, don't talk about it like that." Newt reached for her hand.

"Like what?" Ariadne glanced at where he fingers caressed her own, a dusting of blush falling across her cheeks.

"Like you're some kind of burden to me." Newt tilted her chin up to meet her downcast eyes with his own when she gave him no answer. "You aren't a burden. I choose to be there for you because I want to."

"You're always around me though. You can't even leave me alone to sleep without worrying I'll do something." she tried to explain.

Worry spiked within Newt, "Do you not want me around?"

"Of course I want you around. I just don't want you to feel like you have to look after me all the time and then end up getting sick of me." Ariadne admitted.

"Hey, I'm never going to be sick of you. That's impossible. I'm around you all the time because I want to spend every minute of every day by your side. You're like this massive light in my life. I'd never want to be anywhere other than by your side. When I'm  _ not _ around you, I'm always  _ thinking _ about you. I care about you so much, love. If you feel like I'm being overbearing, I can hang out with the boys more." He pushed himself to let his guard down.

"No, I want you around all the time, too." The raven-haired girl was practically glowing as she beamed up at him.

"Your smile is infectious, you know that?" Newt chuckled, blown away by the warmth spreading through his chest despite the cold breeze of the night. She blushed in response.

"I can't believe that you're such a slinthead!" Minho came rushing past them and stalked straight up to Gally, who was chatting up Phoebe.

"What is it this time, Beyonce?" Gally rolled his eyes and turned to face Minho, folding his arms across his chest.

"I saw what you said to her! I can lip read, you know?" the Korean boy's face flushed a deep shade of red and spittle flew from his mouth and he pointed at Gally with an accusing glare. "I think it's disgusting. Do you have any honour at all?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, so why don't you waddle on back to Thomas so he can make sure you don't blind anyone else with your twerking." The boy with the strange eyebrows lightly pushed Minho out of his face.

"How dare you act like this is nothing! How on Earth can you stand there and defend a pedophilic stalker! Don't deny it, I saw what you said." tears welled in Minho's eyes. "Edward was the creepiest person to ever exist. Team Jacob is the only option. How could you, Gally? I thought you were better than this."

"Well, he's not wrong..." Ariadne raised an eyebrow.

"Please tell me he's not talking about Twilight." Gally leaned to the side so he could get a good look at Ariadne.

"Well, I could  _ tell _ you that, but it'd be a lie." came the disappointing answer.

Just when Gally was about to deal with Minho in a most probably violent way, the black-haired boy spotted a young girl with tan skin, short brown hair and bangs. He stumbled over to her and shook her by the shoulders.

"Where were you when I needed you!? When we all needed you! You could have saved us all! We needed your map in the maze, but you weren't there for us. Instead, you were occupied with swiper, the ugly old troll under the bridge, the big red hill and that shucking monkey. Why do monkeys even need to wear boots? If he was self-aware enough to wear shoes, then not wearing clothes was an active choice. That means that he was a streaker! Why would you choose a streaker over helping me?" The young man broke out into a sobbing mess.

"Well, they don't call him the drama queen of the glade for nothing." Ariadne huffed in astonishment. She took a moment to fully digest the scene in front of her before slowly approaching Minho and taking a hold of his elbow. "Come on, Min-Min. Why don't you come with me and we'll get something to eat. You must be hungry, right?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I guess now that you mention it, I am really hungry." Minho wiped his sleeve across his face, turning his nose up in disgust at the snail-trail left on the fabric.

"That's...really gross." Ariadne shuddered when she spotted it. "Here you go, Minho. Look at all the great food!"

"Is this a mushroom?" Minho's eyes lit up as he grabbed the chopped up vegetable from a platter.

"Yeah, do you like mushrooms?" Ariadne said in a slow and calming voice as if talking to a toddler. Instead of getting an answer to her question, she got a handful of sliced mushroom to the face. Several slices got caught in her hair and tumbled down the front of her dress as she stood in shock.

"Grow! Why isn't it working? It worked for Mario!" Minho frowned in confusion and prepared to throw another handful at her when Newt came to the girl's rescue and pulled their friend's arm down.

"Step away from the table, Minho." Newt pulled the boy away from the food. "That's it. Easy does it..."

"I'm not that short." Ariadne seethed, offended by the implication.

"You keep telling yourself that, love." Newt snorted.

"You take that back right now, Newton!" she poked a finger firmly into his chest.

"Well, you see, I would...but that would be lying." The blond smirked and rested his arm lazily over her head like a couch rest.

"You...!" she fumed, unable to stop a grin from spreading.

"Me...what?" he challenged.

"You're enjoying this too much." she rolled her eyes and shoved his arm off her.

"I can think of something from you that he'd enjoy a lot more, if you pick up what I'm putting down." Brenda materialised from the crowd and sent the shorter brunette a suggestive wink. Newt coughed to cover his choke of surprise.

"Yeah right." Ariadne scoffed and jumped on the opportunity to change the subject. "Is this you volunteering to babysit our great and fearless leader over here? We can ask Thomas to help you out, if that's an incentive?"

"Cheap shot, Ari." Brenda narrowed her eyes. "No, I actually came over here to tell you that It's time to start the commemorative speeches."

"Well, Newt and I have to watch over Min-Min so we can't do much. I'm pretty sure that Harriet and Sonya wanted to say a few words." Ariadne searched the crowd for the signature black and blonde braids of the two girls. "There they are, talking to Gally and Phoebe."

"Thanks, Ari." Brenda patted her on the shoulder and moved off to flag down the Group B girls.

"Woah, wait, where do you think you're going?" Newt grabbed Minho by his collar and tugged him back as he struggled to escape.

"I'm going to be late! I'll miss the train!" Minho shoved Newt off of him and proceeded to run head-first into the brick wall of the REC centre. He was knocked backwards right onto his backside, with a bruise already growing on his forehead, shaking his fist at the ceiling. "Damn you, Dobby!" 

"Oh, good Lord, why?" Ariadne tilted her head back in a hearty groan. 


	29. Rest In Peace

“Aris was the first and last boy to come up in our maze.” Harriet began her speech as she stood with a fearless expression on her face in front of the crowded REC hall. “From the beginning, we all knew that Aris would help us to escape the maze. He had only been with us a few days, but we trusted him with our lives. He proved to us that our trust in him wasn’t misplaced. He was a compassionate, intelligent and brave young man who deserved a lot better than what he was handed in life. Despite all odds, he survived the Maze trials and the Scorch trials only to be bested by some unknown threat in the woods of the one place he thought was safe. Aris deserved peace. He deserved to be safe here, just like every one of us does. We won’t let his loss be in vain. We will find who did this, and make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

By the end of her speech, even stoic Harriet couldn’t hold back her tears of grief. She stepped back, swiftly wiping her eyes as Sonya took her place at the microphone. 

“Aris was a good person. Just like the rest of us, he did what he had to do to survive, but he wasn’t a bad person. He never wanted to hurt anyone. He was always there for us when we needed him. We hope that he can finally rest in peace, reunited above with Rachel, and Beth and everyone else we’ve lost along the way. We know he’s watching over us, and we want him to know that we love him. You can rest now, Aris.” Newt’s sister choked on her own sobs as she shook. 

The group didn’t clap. They didn’t make a sound. They stood there in silence, commemorating all the loved ones they had lost. Even Minho composed himself for the event. Teresa moved up as the two girls left to collect themselves. The raven-haired teen glanced back at where Thomas, Gally, Jorge, Brenda and Phoebe carried a large, tall rock into the hall, placing it in a corner. 

“Thank you, Harriet and Sonya, for that beautiful tribute to our fallen friend.” Teresa began formally. “It hasn’t escaped us that we have all lost people close to us. They won’t go unremembered. This night isn’t just for Aris. It’s for everybody that we’ve ever lost. So in your own time, and in your own way, you can come up here to this memorial behind us and pay your respects to those who have been taken from you.”

Ariadne glanced over to Newt, who had a solemn look upon his features. She slipped her hand into his and gave it a supportive squeeze to let him know she was there for him. He shot her a sad smile in appreciation. 

“I don’t know about you, but I can think of a name or two to inscribe on that stone,” she said in a soft voice, tugging him along behind her. “Come on.”

Thomas was hunched over one side of the stone, carving something into the surface with a sharp hunting knife. When he was done and traced his fingers over the letters, a haunted look in his eyes.  _ Chuck _ . 

“Hey, Tom. Could I use that knife?” Ariadne asked her brother. He nodded before passing her what she’d asked for. She turned to Newt, holding it out to him. “You were there for him in the maze when I couldn't be. You should do it.” 

The Brit nodded and wrapped his long, slim fingers around the handle. Brushing against Ariadne’s warm hand as he did so. Ignoring the electricity that buzzed up his arm at her touch, he pushed the tip into the stone and began writing, handing the knife back to Frypan.  _ Alby _ . 

“Alby would be so proud of you, Newt.” she slipped her arms around his midsection, ducking under his arm to tuck into his side. 

“I wish I could have saved him, Ari. He should be here with us.” he held her close, running his hands over the smooth fabric of her dress from her ribs to her hip. She shuddered and he frowned at her. “What’s wrong?”

“Your hands are cold,” she replied. “Plus, who said he isn’t here with us? He’s probably looking on, laughing at Minho and wishing he could come and scold him for the irresponsibility and lecture him on how to be a real leader.”

Newt chuckled at this. “Yeah, you’re right. He’d do a way better job at running this place than Minho is doing.” 

“There’s the smile I love so much.” she grinned and reached up to brush his fluffy golden hair from his forehead. 

“Did you need to get on your tip-toes to reach?” he teased and she poked his side, knowing exactly where his weak spot was. 

“That’s what you get, Newton.” she shrugged at his flinching. 

“Come on, love. Let’s go get you some more cheesecake.” Newt shook his head and gave the stone one last look back to the memorial.  _ Chuck. Alby. Winston _ .  _ George. Zart _ .  _ Jeff _ .  _ Clint _ .  _ Nick. Ben. Rachel. Beth. Aris. Mary.  _

“At least you’re still here, Newt,” she mumbled. “If I’d had to write your name up there...I don’t know how I’d manage.”

“But you don’t have to write my name up there. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon, love.” he pressed his lips against the top of her head, over her hair, taking in her scent of sweet marshmallows and vanilla. 

“That better be a promise, Newton.” she sighed at the comfort close proximity to him brought her. 


	30. Sweet Dreams

Getting everyone to go to sleep early wasn’t a difficult thing that night. Most people wanted to hide out of sight as they mourned, and those that had cried publicly were drained. The one person who refused to go to sleep, however, was Minho. 

“Minho, get back here! I can’t run after you in heels!” Ariadne whisper-shouted as Minho wove through tables and chairs, evading capture. 

“Get your buggin’ shank-self over to the house, now!” Newt chased after him with a stern voice. 

“No! I don’t want to go to sleep yet, Mummy. I’m not tired!” he whined. 

“Minho, don’t you want some warm milk and cookies before bed?” Brenda tried as Thomas and Gally blocked Minho’s available exits, trapping him between two long tables. 

“I do like cookies…” he tilted his head in careful consideration. 

“If you want a treat before sleepy time, you have to listen. If you can go quietly to bed, I’ll bring you some cookies and warm milk. Gally will even read you a picture book.”

“Really?” Minho’s eyes lit up. 

“Hey, I didn't agree to this,” Gally spoke up. 

“But, Captain Gally, please!” their supposed ‘leader’ pleaded. 

“There is no way I am reading you a shucking bedtime story.” He shook his head adamantly. 

Of course, several minutes and cookies later, Minho was tucked in bed and Gally was sitting next to him. 

“And Max, the king of all wild things, was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all.” the boy grumbled, an incredibly depressed expression settled over his face. 

“This is so getting sent to everyone.” Brenda snickered as she recorded the strange scene through a crack in the slightly opened doorway. 

“This was a great idea, Brenda. Good thinking.” Thomas complemented.

“Don’t worry, Thomas. If you ever follow in Minho’s footsteps, I’ll read you a bedtime story too.” the dark-haired girl smirked.

“Speaking of bedtime, we’d better head on upstairs. We’ve got a big day ahead of us tomorrow. Goodnight, you two.” Newt gave a curt nod to their friends and rested a large hand on the small of Ariadne’s back, leading her to the staircase. 

Her feet felt like lead as she ascended to the second floor, almost tripping over the top stair. Thankfully Newt was right behind her to steady her as she swayed. Instead of letting her continue on, he swept her up in his arms and carried her to her room himself. He placed her down and pulled back her sheets as she removed her shoes, rubbing the aching soles of her feet. 

“Make sure you rest, love.” he hesitated before throwing caution to the wind and stepping close, taking her face in both his hand to place a soft, lingering kiss on her forehead. 

“Sweet dreams, Newt,” she whispered breathlessly, slipping between the cold covers of her bed. 


	31. Night Terrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please be aware this is a trigger warning! This chapter has detailed description of suicide. Please skip this chapter if this triggers you. A brief summary is as follows.
> 
> Ariadne has a nightmare of one of the tortures Ratman put her through and Newt hears her screaming in her sleep. He comforts her when she wakes up and stays the night in her room.

_ Ariadne’s eyes were fixated to the screen of the control room as she watched him running. Newt. There was a deep yearning for him, yet simultaneously it felt as though she had been smashed in the ribs by a sledgehammer. Once she escaped the initial shock of seeing him after a year of suffering without him, there was an intense pain. Despite the heartache, she could still feel the warmth, comfort and hope that he had always brought into her life.  _

_ When he started climbing up the Ivy that clung to the towering walls of the maze, she assumed he was searching for a way out. It rapidly became clear that this was not the case when he pushed off from the wall and jumped. A jolt of panic exploded in her chest, knocking the air from her lungs as she watched him fall. No. No, no, no, no, no, no. Why would he jump? No, no, no! She couldn’t lose him. She was ashamed at the relief that spread through her when his leg became tangled in the thick vines, until she heard the sickening crack of his bones and watched him collapse to the ground, writhing in pain and begging for death to collect him.  _

_ She didn’t even register that she was screaming, tears streaming down her face, when she reached for the control panel and brought up another familiar profile. Typing furiously, she planted the thought in Alby’s mind to go into the maze, searching for Newt. She couldn’t let him die there, by himself, suffering. She couldn’t bear a life without him, even though she knew it was selfish. _

  
  


Ariadne gasped as she sucked air into her lungs, pushing the covers off and fighting the arms that wrapped around her shoulders. 

“Ari! It’s okay. Take deep breaths. It’s just me.” a soothing voice with a British accent whispered into her ear. “Hey, just breathe. You’re safe. You’re with me and you’re safe.”

“Newt! But you were...I saw you...in the maze...you jumped...I couldn’t help you…” she sobbed, clutching his forearms tightly. 

“You did help. Without you, I wouldn’t be here right now. I  _ am _ here. I’m right here, with you. I’m okay now.” he reassured her, voice still husky from sleep. 

The cold skin that chilled her to the bone alerted her to the fact that he wasn’t wearing a shirt. She froze, not knowing how to react. Averting her gaze, she pulled away from him and settled back onto her pillows. He brushed her hair back from her face with frozen fingers that sent goosebumps rippling across her flesh. 

“Are you cold?” he questioned, pulling the sheets back over her body, discreetly covering the plunging neckline of the dress she hadn’t been bothered to change out of. 

“No, but you are.” she took a few steadying breaths before risking a glance at him. 

He sat on her mattress in only a pair of light grey sweatpants that hung low on his hips. She couldn’t stop her eyes from trailing over every curve of his toned chest and abdomen. This was new. He’d never slept shirtless before the maze. 

“Sorry, I just heard you screaming and rushed over. I didn’t think to put a shirt on.” He must have caught her staring because a sheepish expression took hold of his features.

“No, it’s okay. It’s perfectly fine. Absolutely no problem here.” she stumbled over her words, ignoring the heat that burned in the pit of her stomach. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, shuffling closer to her. 

“Hmm?” she raised an eyebrow in appreciation as she took in his tousled hair and the gravelly texture of his voice. What was he talking about? What had he just asked her? 

“The fit?” he clarified. 

“Oh...that. No. Not much to talk about. You pulled me out before the punishments could begin.” Ariadne rubbed the sleep from her eyes. 

“Are you okay? Do you want me to stay?” Newt nodded at her response. 

The brunette hesitated before she gave a slight nod and her best friend slipped under the covers beside her. The two of them lay there, staring at the ceiling, arms held straight by their sides despite wanting to seek more contact. They found solace in each other’s company. 


	32. Into the Woods

The warm golden rays that melted the overnight frost that iced the crisp emerald grass almost seemed out of place with the ominous foreboding that seemed to settle in the shadows of the woods surrounding the safe haven. They had automatically separated into their quadrants and stood nervously with heavy backpacks slung over their shoulders.

“Good luck leading these shanks, Phoebe. I know I make it look like a walk in the park, but that’s just because I’m awesome.” Minho grumbled, blocking the light from his eyes.

“Yeah right, shank. Or maybe you’re the only one who finds it difficult.” Gally rolled his eyes and pulled his girlfriend in for a hug. “You’ll do great, babe.”

“I sure hope so, but you guys better be back soon. Everyone’s going to miss watching Minho dance on tables.” Phoebe smirked, and shot a wink at Brenda, who had thoroughly enjoyed the show.

“I pretended to be Shakira one time, people. One time!” Minho shook his head.

“Let’s get back on track here.” Harriet reeled in the conversation. “If anyone isn’t back within a week, we raise the alarm and go looking for them. Any questions or queries?”

“If we find something, do we investigate or come back to report first?” Sonya nodded to her maze leader.

“If it’s something that will definitely still be there if you were to wait until all of us could go, then don’t approach,” Teresa confirmed. “Anything else?”

“Uh yeah, can we hurry up and leave already? I’d rather spend as little time on this as possible.” Irene scoffed and tilted her weight to one leg, sticking out her hip in a way she clearly thought looked attractive. Emphasis on ‘thought’.

“I guess we’ll see you guys in a week.” Ariadne smiled at new and old friends alike. She nodded to Teresa in support as the raven-haired, blue-eyed girl began to follow Jorge towards their sector. Their three team members followed after them, clearly fearing what might be to follow. Gally and Frypan were the next to move off, followed by Irene and two other boys. Minho slapped Thomas and Newt’s backs as if wishing them luck and shot Ariadne a comforting smile before he left with Harriet and their three members.

“Are we ready to go into the woods, girls and boys?” Ariadne hooked her arms through Thomas’ and Newt’s, tugging them along with her towards the great unknown hidden behind the vast treeline. Sonya and Brenda followed along behind them.

Ariadne hummed a faint tune as they went, going along the lyrics in her head to amuse herself and fend off the threat of fear.

_...Into the woods and down the dell _

_ The path is straight, I know it well _

_ Into the woods and who can tell _

_ What's waiting on the journey?... _

As the sun moved across the sky Ariadne found herself walking beside Brenda, with Newt and Sonya behind them and Thomas leading their path.

“I never got to thank you,” Ariadne began. “For getting the news to me about Newt. Without you, he’d be dead.”

“What are friends for?” she shrugged with a slight smirk and nodded towards the dark-haired boy in front of them. “I knew you would have never been able to let him go if he’d died. You and Thomas are alike in that way. You both seem to have trouble walking away from people, even when you should.”

“You really care about him, don’t you?” Ariadne mused.

“He’s different to everyone else. His curiosity makes him a pain in the ass, but he never gives up on his friends, no matter the risks. It’s his fatal flaw, yet it’s the part about him I love most.” Brenda grumbled.

“He was always too curious for his own good. At first, it’s endearing. Then it gets irritating. But it’s who he is, and he cares for people more intensely than anyone else I know. Not that I know many people.”

“Do you think I even have a chance?” Brenda hesitated to ask.

“I don’t know. I think that he’s so focused on surviving and saving everyone that he hasn’t let himself have time to even think about something like a relationship. I think he distracts himself with the greater good of everyone else so that he doesn’t have to think about it.” Ariadne took a moment to consider this before she answered honestly. “He’s probably really confused. He and Teresa were always close growing up. Neither of them was really allowed to mix with any of the other kids, so they were all each other really had. That kind of a bond doesn’t go away. He will always care about her, but he’s also wary of her. She betrayed him and his friends, and even though her ultimate goal was to protect him, he doesn’t know if he can trust her. Trust is a hard thing to build, and even harder to restore once it’s been broken. In saying that, I can tell that he cares about you too. He also trusts you. I believe that this is all a matter of if he can forgive Teresa and trust her again.”

Brenda merely nodded, mulling this information over. “If Newt had done to you what Teresa did to Thomas, would you forgive him?”

“I’d forgive Newt for anything,” she answered almost immediately, not even needing to think too hard about it.

“It’s because you love him.” Brenda decided. “If Thomas loves Teresa the way you love Newt, then I have no chance.”

Ariadne didn’t answer. She did love Newt. And she could never imagine being with someone else, even if it would be so much easier than waiting around for something that might not ever happen. He was worth it. Did Thomas feel the same way about Teresa?

“It’s starting to get dark, guys. We better try and find shelter.” Thomas called from up the front of the group as they travelled in what they hoped was the right direction. Thomas gave the compass one last glance before he pocketed it and turned to his sister. “Do you think there could be any caves around here?”

“Probably, but the chances that we’ll find one in time are slim,” Ariadne admitted, with a thoughtful tilt of her head.

“We’ll just have to set up camp as best as we can and split the watch in case something finds us.” Sonya decided and dropped her bag at the base of the nearest tree.

“So we’re just going to sleep out in the open?” Thomas’ sister frowned.

“I forget that you’re not used to this kind of life.” Newt grinned at her; his smile full of reassurance. “Don’t worry, we’re experts.”

Ariadne merely nodded before heading for a covering of bushes a way off from where Thomas was setting up a small fire for camp. Newt started to follow her.

“You don’t have to come with me to the bathroom, Newt.” her eyes glinted in amusement. “In fact, I’d prefer it if you didn’t.”

“Oh, I just thought that…” The blond boy’s eyes widened. “Nevermind, I’ll just go…”

“She doesn’t need you to hold her hand all the time, you know.” his blonde sister pointed out to him as she grabbed his arm and pulled him in the opposite direction. “Come on, Thomas wants us to get some dry firewood.”

“Do you think I’m overbearing?” he wondered.

“I think you’re overprotective. It’s like you’ve got maternal instinct or something, even with me despite not knowing me.” Sonya answered.

“There’s a reason why I try to protect her.” Newt defended himself.

“Yeah, everyone knows she’s your girlfriend.” she laughed as she pulled a knife from the sheath as her thigh and began cutting up a log.

“What? She’s not my girlfriend.” he joined her, cheeks flushing. Could everyone see how he felt? Was it so obvious?

“Yeah sure, I believe you.” Sonya’s sweet voice was dripping with sarcasm.

“No, I’m being serious. We’re just really close friends. She doesn’t…it’s just me.” Newt fumbled over his words.

“Wait, you’re not pulling my leg right now?” she stopped her chopping. “That girl is crazy about you! I’m willing to bet my house that she likes you just as much as you like her.”

“Yeah, she cares about me, but not in the same way.” Newt shook his head, not willing to let himself get his hopes up only for them to be crushed.

“Definitely in the same way. I’m telling you, I see the way she looks at you. She doesn’t want you to just be ‘really close friends’.” Sonya rolled her eyes at him. “You’re a catch, Newt! She’d be dumb to reject you. You should just take a shot.”

“Thanks, Lizzy.” Newt let the name slip before he could pull it back. At her confused expression, he made the split decision to tell her the truth. “Sonya, there’s something you should know. I had a sister. She was immune and WICKED wanted her, but I wouldn’t let her go. So they took me as well, as a control. They separated me from her. I had to sneak in just to see her. They gave us all new names. I forgot my own, but I’ll never forget hers. Elizabeth. Lizzy.”

“Newt, you aren’t saying that…” Sonya’s bright eyes widened in a mixture of shock and hope.

“You’re my little sister, Sonya. You’re Lizzy.” Newt took a shuddering breath, anticipating how she might react to this new information. Would she be happy? Would she be disappointed? His worries went away when she flung her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug. He held her just as tightly, overwhelmed with a sense of belonging and relief.

“I’m glad you’re my brother,” she mumbled as she pulled away and the two returned to their job in comfortable silence. 


	33. Captured

“Hey, what’s your name again?” Minho jogged to catch up with Harriet and spoke before she could answer his question. “Or can I call you mine?”

“Are your eyes a maze?” he continued when the dark-haired girl didn’t answer. “Because I get lost in them. I must be a crank because I’m crazy for you. Are you the Scorch? You’re super hot.”

“When are you going to give it a rest? We need to find shelter.” Harriet rolled her eyes at his efforts. “You’re lucky that only stupid people roam through the forest at night, otherwise we might have company.” 

“ _ We’re _ roaming through the forest at night.” Minho pointed out. 

“I rest my case.” the tall girl muttered under her breath with a glance at the boy. 

“Is it really so bad? Being in a forest with me there beside you. Some might say it’s romantic.” he leaned over to put his arm around her shoulders. “If it gets cold I’ll even snuggle with you. To preserve body heat, you know-”

Minho didn’t have the chance to finish his sentence before Harriet's fist was sinking into his stomach, sucking the air from his lungs. The boy doubled over, struggling to draw in breath. He let out a small groan before beginning to give a sassy retort before Harriet held up a hand to silence him. 

“Shut up. Someone’s out here with us,” she whispered, dark eyes following a shadow moving about the tree line. 

“What is it?” Ruth, the tall and slim girl, asked warily as the group came closer together. 

“Do you see that?” Rosa, a shorter girl with a wild mane of curly black hair, slipped her hand over the long dagger sheathed at her side. 

“See what? All I see are trees,” Frankie’s thick eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he searched their surroundings. 

“Nobody move,” Harriet ordered as her line of sight followed a thin red beam of light that ended in a target over her chest. “On my count, we all hit the ground, okay?”

They nodded, tensing their muscles as they prepared to move. 

“Three,” the numbers came out in a shaky voice. “Two…”

“Drop the weapons and hands on your heads,” A loud and authoritative male voice cut through the silence. “Or your leader gets shot.”

The owner of the voice emerged from the darkness. The dark-skinned man was equipped with a gun and several other weapons hidden in his military uniform. He was clearly a trained soldier if his broad mass of muscles was any indicator of his physical regimen. More men and women emerged from the treeline, all with lethal weapons aimed right at them. Red dots were hovering over Harriet’s chest. 

“Would it help at all if I told you that I was actually the leader?” Minho raised a hand. Harriet shot him a glare as she and the man in front of them answered in unison. 

“No.”


End file.
